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primary

[prahy-mer-ee, -muh-ree] / ˈpraɪ mɛr i, -mə ri /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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While flying he tends to avoid deep or controversial topics with his co-pilot, since the primary duty of a pilot is to monitor, Machchhar told the podcast.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Atherosclerosis is the primary underlying cause of cardiovascular disease, which can eventually appear as a heart attack, stroke or sudden death.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026

Critics argue that the exemption is too broad and should have included only victims whose primary residence was destroyed as opposed to landlords or investors with portfolios of properties.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The Clean Air Act assigns primary responsibility for regulating emissions to the Environmental Protection Agency, while preserving only limited state authority over in-state sources.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

I attended the primary school on the Institute’s campus.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Petersen said Unite Here had the largest ground operation of any union in the state during primaries in June and knocked on more than 300,000 doors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

It didn't respond to a request for comment, but it has rejected suggestions that its influence is collapsing, saying hundreds of candidates it backed have won their primaries.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

With Tuesday’s primaries in Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Carolina over, we’re down to fewer than a half dozen states that have contests left to go.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

And in June, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed a trio of progressive Democrats in the regions' US House races, all of whom won their primaries.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

It was the eve of the Wisconsin primaries, and polls there were showing a tight race.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

One former lawmaker, Dallas’ Jason Villalba, knows what it’s like to be primaried by a GOP rival backed by insurgent groups.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 18, 2023

Manchin brushed off the warning, saying, “I’ve been primaried my entire life. That would not be anything new for me.”

From The Guardian ● Jan. 19, 2022

“I’ve been primaried my entire life. That would not be anything new for me. I’ve never run an election where I wasn’t primaried,” Mr. Manchin said.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 18, 2022

He will die a senator or be primaried and spend the rest of his life just hanging out around the Capitol.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2015

"Right now Cantor is impregnable, but if we can make him vulnerable then he can be primaried," Hurd said.

From Reuters ● May 17, 2011

If he does, though, good luck to whichever next-big-thing in Massachusetts politics chooses to end their career by primarying him.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026

In 1998, the Working Families Party began testing the strategy: primarying the worst incumbents, endorsing the best and running third-party races only when it made sense.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2019

In Rhode Island, it is former secretary of state Matt Brown and Bernie Sanders-organizer Aaron Regunberg primarying Raimondo and her lieutenant governor.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 10, 2018




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