Definitions

elementary

[el-uh-men-tuh-ree, -tree] / ˌɛl əˈmɛn tə ri, -tri /

ADJECTIVE

simple, basic

Synonyms

STRONGEST

elemental fundamental rudimentary straightforward underlying

WEAK

ABCs abecedarian basal beginning child's play clear duck soup easy essential facile foundational initial introductory meat and potatoes original plain prefatory preliminary primary primitive primo simplest simplex simplified substratal uncomplex uncomplicated

Antonyms

STRONGEST

additional advanced extra secondary

WEAK

abstruse complex complicated compound difficult hard intricate involved

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.

The Iran World Cup team arrived in Tijuana wearing lapel pins on their jackets acknowledging victims of a Feb. 28 missile strike on an elementary school.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

A Las Vegas elementary school now bears her name.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

And Mario Thompson, an elementary school principal who has been intimately involved in all his daughters’ careers, is having to negotiate all this on the fly.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026

The National Transportation Safety Board opened an ongoing investigation into Waymo after a robotaxi struck a child in Santa Monica, Calif., near an elementary school.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026

Back in elementary school, we used to try to guess how many fireflies there were at any given time of the night.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

Vocabulary lists containing elementary

Animal Farm

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Essential English Vocabulary, List 1

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'Tis A Gift To Be Simple: Words For National Simplicity Day

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