elementary

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

adjective

pertaining to or dealing with elements, rudiments, or first principles: an elementary grammar.
of or relating to an elementary school: elementary teachers.
of the nature of an ultimate constituent; simple or uncompounded.
pertaining to the four elements, earth, water, air, and fire, or to the great forces of nature; elemental.
Chemistry. of or noting one or more elements.

Origin of elementary

1400–50; late Middle English elementare (< Middle French elementaire) < Latin elementārius. See element, -ary

SYNONYMS FOR elementary

1 Elementary, primary, rudimentary refer to what is basic and fundamental. Elementary refers to the introductory, simple, easy facts or parts of a subject that must necessarily be learned first in order to understand succeeding ones: elementary arithmetic. Primary may mean much the same as elementary; however, it usually emphasizes the idea of what comes first even more than that of simplicity: primary steps. Rudimentary applies to what is undeveloped or imperfect: a rudimentary form of government.

OTHER WORDS FROM elementary

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH elementary

eleemosynary elementary (see synonym study at the current entry) elemental elementary

Example sentences from the Web for elementary

British Dictionary definitions for elementary

elementary
/ (ˌɛlɪˈmɛntərɪ, -trɪ) /

adjective

not difficult; simple; rudimentary
of or concerned with the first principles of a subject; introductory or fundamental
maths (of a function) having the form of an algebraic, exponential, trigonometric, or a logarithmic function, or any combination of these
chem another word for elemental (def. 5)

Derived forms of elementary

elementarily, adverb elementariness, noun