primary
2
8.0
- noun
- /ˈpraɪˌmɛri/
- Specialized
- Maybe they would never find the primary, I was told.
- primary and secondary star
- magnitude of the primary
Examples
-
"Perhaps you recall several years ago the collision of Comet Shoemaker-Levy with our primary?"
Fiction book (2001) -
It was the unknown primary that sent chills through me whenever I read the report.
Fiction book (2001) -
One of the stars, the primary, is blue and much brighter than its companion.
Academic text (2000) -
So from a single primary cosmic ray comes a shower of particles streaming towards the Earth.
-
So what you're going to get is observationally planets that are relatively close to their primary stars.
-
I knew the pathology report by heart: papillary carcinoma with an unknown primary.
Fiction book (2001) -
These binaries contain a faint, orange-red, spectral class F to K, giant or sub-giant star, called the secondary, and a luminous, blue, spectral class B to A, main-sequence companion, called the primary.
Academic text (2000) -
The primary star in this system is surrounded by several smaller planets orbiting around it.
-
The researchers focused on the primary to understand the dynamics of its surrounding planets.
-
Astronomers observed the primary, noting its brightness compared to the dimmer stars nearby.
Synonyms
6
4.4
A natural object in space like a star or planet that you can see in the sky
Compounds
26
3.2
An early election where party voters choose candidates for the general election
14
3.8
A doctor you see first for health problems who gives general care and arranges specialist help
- Literature
5
6.4
An early election before the main vote where any registered voter can vote for candidates of only one party
3
3.3
A doctor or nurse you see first for health problems and regular check-ups
3
7.2
An election to choose a party candidate in which only registered members of the party can vote
- Specialized
3
3.0
Basic health care you get first from a doctor or community clinic for everyday needs
- Specialized
1
5.2
A long part of a bird's wing at the outer edge that helps the bird fly
1
6.2
A primary election where voters choose candidates instead of party officials
- Specialized
1
6.2
A loop of wire where changing electric current makes a magnetic field that creates current in a nearby loop
- Specialized
1
5.2
A body part you are born with that helps make babies, like genitals or ovaries
- Specialized
1
7.6
A body part you are born with that is used to make babies, like genitals
- Specialized
1
6.3
Painful cramps in the lower belly that happen during a normal period
- Offensive
1
9.9
An election with too many messy candidates that makes it hard to pick one
- Specialized
1
5.8
The first stage of syphilis when a painless sore appears at the infection site
- Specialized
A lung infection in children and young adults that causes high fever and cough
- Jargon
Military officers check soldiers' personal letters and messages for secret information
- Specialized
Body parts used for having babies, like genitals, that show if someone is male or female
One of the three basic paint colours red, blue and yellow used to make other colours
- Specialized
A solid metal in which atoms of other elements mix evenly into its structure
- Specialized
One of three colors, magenta, cyan and yellow, used in printing to make many colors by removing light
- Specialized
A coil that receives input electricity and causes a changing current in the secondary coil
Surface Forms
Etymology
Primary comes from the Latin root primus meaning 'first' and is the same root as prime, so in astronomy a primary is the main or 'first' body that other objects go around.