elementary Hear it!

elementary definition

el·emen·tary (el′ə ment′ə rē, -men′trē)

adjective

  1. elemental
    1. of first principles, rudiments, or fundamentals; introductory; basic; simple
    2. of or having to do with the formal instruction of children in basic subjects elementary education

Etymology: ME elementare < L elementarius

Related Forms:

  • elementarily el′·emen′·ta·rily (el′ə ment′ə rə lē, -men′ter′ə lē) adverb
  • elementariness el′·emen′·ta·ri·ness noun

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

elementary Synonyms

elementary

modif.

  1. Suited to beginners

    primary, introductory, rudimentary, simple; see easy 2, introductory 1.

  2. Fundamental

    foundational, essential, basic; see fundamental 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

elementary Usage Examples

Preposition: for

  • everyone: By freezing frames and jumping to specific performances and explanations, mastering these tricks becomes elementary for everyone.

Modifies a noun

  • particle: Quark Any of a group of elementary particles governing the nature of sub atomic matter.

Modifying Another Word

  • fairly: Whilst this makes it very accessible, it also means that most of its considerable bulk is dedicated to fairly elementary mathematics.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: All this may seem elementary, even insulting to the student's natural good manners.
elementary usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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MLA Style

"elementary." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/elementary>

APA Style

elementary. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/elementary

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