The difference between Primary and Prime

When used as nouns, primary means a primary election, whereas prime means the first hour of daylight.

When used as verbs, primary means to knock out an incumbent in the primary election, typically used referring to a non-incumbent challenger, whereas prime means to prepare a mechanism for its main work.

When used as adjectives, primary means the first in a group or series, whereas prime means first in importance, degree, or rank.


check bellow for the other definitions of Primary and Prime

  1. Primary as an adjective:

    The first in a group or series.

    Examples:

    "Children attend primary school, and teenagers attend secondary school."

  2. Primary as an adjective:

    Main; principal; placed ahead of others.

    Examples:

    "Preferred stock has primary claim on dividends, ahead of common stock."

  3. Primary as an adjective (geology):

    Earliest formed; fundamental.

  4. Primary as an adjective (chemistry):

    Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement.

  5. Primary as an adjective (medicine):

    Relating to the place where a disorder or disease started to occur.

  6. Primary as an adjective (medicine):

    Relating to day-to-day care provided by health professionals such as nurses, general practitioners, dentists etc.

  1. Primary as a noun:

    A primary election; a preliminary election to select a political candidate of a political party.

  2. Primary as a noun:

    The first year of grade school.

  3. Primary as a noun:

    A base or fundamental component; something that is irreducible.

  4. Primary as a noun:

    The most massive component of a gravitationally bound system, such as a planet in relation to its satellites.

  5. Primary as a noun:

    A primary school.

  6. Primary as a noun (ornithology):

    Any flight feather attached to the manus (hand) of a bird.

  7. Primary as a noun:

    A primary colour.

  8. Primary as a noun (medicine):

    Primary site of disease; original location or source of the disease.

    Examples:

    "unknown primary'"

    "most common primaries'"

  9. Primary as a noun (electronics):

    A directly driven inductive coil, as in a transformer or induction motor that is magnetically coupled to a secondary

  1. Primary as a verb (US, transitive):

    To knock out an incumbent in the primary election, typically used referring to a non-incumbent challenger.

  2. Primary as a verb (US, intransitive):

    To take part in a primary election.

  3. Primary as a verb (US, politics):

    To challenge an incumbent sitting politician for their political party's endorsement to run for re-election, through running a challenger campaign in a primary election

  1. Prime as an adjective:

    First in importance, degree, or rank.

    Examples:

    "Our prime concern here is to keep the community safe."

  2. Prime as an adjective:

    First in time, order, or sequence.

    Examples:

    "Both the English and French governments established prime meridians in their capitals."

  3. Prime as an adjective:

    First in excellence, quality, or value.

    Examples:

    "This is a prime location for a bookstore."

  4. Prime as an adjective (mathematics, lay):

    Having exactly two integral factors: itself and unity (1 in the case of integers).

    Examples:

    "Thirteen is a prime number."

  5. Prime as an adjective (mathematics, technical):

    Such that if it divides a product, it divides one of the multiplicands.

  6. Prime as an adjective (mathematics):

    Having its complement closed under multiplication: said only of ideals.

  7. Prime as an adjective:

    Marked or distinguished by the prime symbol.

  8. Prime as an adjective:

    Early; blooming; being in the first stage.

  9. Prime as an adjective (obsolete):

    Lecherous; lustful; lewd.

  1. Prime as a noun (historical):

    The first hour of daylight; the first canonical hour.

  2. Prime as a noun (Christianity):

    The religious service appointed to this hour.

  3. Prime as a noun (obsolete):

    The early morning generally.

  4. Prime as a noun (now, _, rare):

    The earliest stage of something.

  5. Prime as a noun:

    The most active, thriving, or successful stage or period.

  6. Prime as a noun:

    The chief or best individual or part.

  7. Prime as a noun (music):

    The first note or tone of a musical scale.

  8. Prime as a noun (fencing):

    The first defensive position, with the sword hand held at head height, and the tip of the sword at head height.

  9. Prime as a noun (algebra, number theory):

    A prime element of a mathematical structure, particularly a prime number.

    Examples:

    "3 is a prime."

  10. Prime as a noun (card games):

    A four-card hand containing one card of each suit in the game of primero; the opposite of a flush in poker.

  11. Prime as a noun (backgammon):

    Six consecutive blocks, which prevent the opponent's pieces from passing.

    Examples:

    "I'm threatening to build a prime here."

  12. Prime as a noun:

    The symbol ′ used to indicate feet, minutes, derivation and other measures and mathematical operations.

  13. Prime as a noun (chemistry, obsolete):

    Any number expressing the combining weight or equivalent of any particular element; so called because these numbers were respectively reduced to their lowest relative terms on the fixed standard of hydrogen as 1.

  14. Prime as a noun:

    An inch, as composed of twelve seconds in the duodecimal system.

  15. Prime as a noun (obsolete):

    The priming in a flintlock.

  16. Prime as a noun (film):

    Contraction of prime lens, a film lens

  1. Prime as a verb (transitive):

    To prepare a mechanism for its main work.

    Examples:

    "You'll have to press this button twice to prime the fuel pump."

  2. Prime as a verb (transitive):

    To apply a coat of primer paint to.

    Examples:

    "I need to prime these handrails before we can apply the finish coat."

  3. Prime as a verb (obsolete, intransitive):

    To be renewed.

  4. Prime as a verb (intransitive):

    To serve as priming for the charge of a gun.

  5. Prime as a verb (intransitive, of a steam boiler):

    To work so that foaming occurs from too violent ebullition, which causes water to become mixed with, and be carried along with, the steam that is formed.

  6. Prime as a verb:

    To apply priming to (a musket or cannon); to apply a primer to (a metallic cartridge).

  7. Prime as a verb:

    To prepare; to make ready; to instruct beforehand; to coach.

    Examples:

    "to prime a witness"

    "The boys are primed for mischief."

  8. Prime as a verb (UK, dialect, obsolete):

    To trim or prune.

    Examples:

    "to prime trees"

  9. Prime as a verb (math):

    To mark with a prime mark.

  1. Prime as a noun (cycling):

    An intermediate sprint within a race, usually offering a prize and/or points.