Skip to main content
elementary school

elementary school

131 1.0
A school for children between five and eleven that teaches reading, writing, and basic math
  • noun
  • /ˌɛlɪˈmɛnˌtɛri skuːl/
  • US
translation icon : escuela primaria
  • My sister volunteers at the elementary school, helping first graders with their reading skills.
  • elementary school students
  • elementary school children
  • elementary school teachers

And this continued through his elementary school and middle school and high school.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • We need to change the mindset of acceptance in boys in elementary schools more specifically.

  • Another invention that we learn about in elementary school is the invention of the microscope.

    Academic text (2011)
  • When I talk to young students, elementary school students are great.

  • And what does the elementary school need to do to make things right?

  • I mean, think back to your elementary school days.

  • And this continued through his elementary school and middle school and high school.

  • The book includes a project where they were working on elementary school kids learning to read better.

  • I am getting elementary school teachers calling us for help.

  • The article also shares implications for the role of the elementary school counselor.

    Academic text (2011)
  • It must have been in elementary school when that movie came out.

    GQ

Synonyms

grade school
vselementary school
  • US
58 1.4

A school for young children in their first years of education

is defined by ages five to eleven rather than counting years of schooling
primary school
vselementary school
15 1.0

A school for children aged five to eleven where they learn basic subjects

focuses on that specific age range rather than on stages of education
grammar school
vselementary school
  • US
1 1.1

A school for young children covering the first six or eight grades

is framed by the age range rather than by regional naming or usage

Antonyms

1.0

A school for teenagers about 14 to 18 years old before college

15 2.0

A school for students aged about 11 to 18 that comes after primary school and before college

How Advanced

high school
  • US
1.0
middle school
  • US
103 1.4
elementary school
  • US
131 1.0
kindergarten
  • US
180 1.1
preschool
94 1.3

Surface Forms

Morphology

elementary + school

The meaning 'a school for young children in early grades' is directly and transparently built from 'elementary' (pertaining to early/basic education) + 'school' (an institution for education). This compositional noun phrase matches common cross-linguistic patterns (e.g., primary/elementary school) and follows standard English modifier + noun structure, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the full meaning.

Etymology

Elementary school uses elementary meaning 'basic' and school meaning a place to learn, so it simply names a place for the first, basic lessons children get. That's why elementary school means a school for young children to learn reading, writing, and numbers.