tʃiːf (ˌ)ɛlɪ̈ˈmɛnt(ə)ɹɪ ˌɛlɪ̈ˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi ˈpɹaɪməɹi ˈpɹaɪməɹi ˈpɹɒeməɹi ˈpɹaɪməɹi ˈpɹaɪməɹi ˈpɹɒeməɹi ˈpɹɪnsɪpəl a preliminary election where delegates or nominees are chosen not derived from or reducible to something else; basic a primary instinct most important element the chief aim of living the main doors were of solid glass the principal rivers of America the principal example policemen were primary targets the master bedroom a master switch of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondary primary goals a primary effect primary sources a primary interest of or being the essential or basic part an elementary need for love and nurturing a basal reader one of the main flight feathers projecting along the outer edge of a bird's wing coil forming the part of an electrical circuit such that changing current in it induces a current in a neighboring circuit current through the primary coil induces current in the secondary coil (astronomy) a celestial body (especially a star) relative to other objects in orbit around it