2 N‑SING The priesthood is all the members of the Christian clergy, especially in a particular Church. □ Should the General Synod vote women into the priesthood?
priest|ly /priː stli/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Priestly is used to describe things that belong or relate to a priest. □ Priestly robes hang on the walls. □ …his priestly duties.
prig /pr I g/ (prigs ) N‑COUNT If you call someone a prig , you disapprove of them because they behave in a very moral way and disapprove of other people's behaviour as though they are superior. [DISAPPROVAL ]
prig|gish /pr I g I ʃ/ ADJ If you describe someone as priggish , you think that they are a prig. [DISAPPROVAL ]
prim /pr I m/ ADJ If you describe someone as prim , you disapprove of them because they behave too correctly and are too easily shocked by anything rude. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ We tend to imagine that the Victorians were very prim and proper. ● prim|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ We sat primly at either end of a long settee.
pri|ma|cy /pra I məsi/ N‑UNCOUNT The primacy of something is the fact that it is the most important or most powerful thing in a particular situation. [FORMAL ] □ The political idea at the heart of this is the primacy of the individual.
pri|ma don|na /priː mə dɒ nə/ (prima donnas )
1 N‑COUNT A prima donna is the main female singer in an opera. □ Her career began as prima donna with the Royal Carl Rosa Opera Company.
2 N‑COUNT If you describe someone as a prima donna , you disapprove of them because they think they can behave badly or get what they want because they have a particular talent. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ Nobody who comes to this club is allowed to behave like a prima donna.
pri|mae|val /pra I miː v ə l/ → see primeval
pri|ma fa|cie /pra I mə fe I ʃi/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Prima facie is used to describe something which appears to be true when you first consider it. [FORMAL ] □ There was a prima facie case that a contempt of court had been committed.
pri|mal /pra I m ə l/ ADJ Primal is used to describe something that relates to the origins of things or that is very basic. [FORMAL ] □ Jealousy is a primal emotion.
pri|mari|ly /pra I mər I li, [AM ] pra I meə r I li/ ADV [ADV with v] You use primarily to say what is mainly true in a particular situation. □ …a book aimed primarily at high-energy physicists. □ Public order is primarily an urban problem.
pri|ma|ry ◆◇◇ /pra I məri, [AM ] -meri/ (primaries )
1 ADJ [ADJ n] You use primary to describe something that is very important. [FORMAL ] □ That's the primary reason the company's share price has held up so well. □ His misunderstanding of language was the primary cause of his other problems.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Primary education is given to pupils between the ages of 5 and 11. [BRIT ] □ Britain did not introduce compulsory primary education until 1880. □ …primary teachers. in AM, use elementary 3 ADJ [ADJ n] Primary is used to describe something that occurs first. □ It is not the primary tumour that kills, but secondary growths elsewhere in the body.
4 N‑COUNT A primary or a primary election is an election in an American state in which people vote for someone to become a candidate for a political office. Compare general election . □ …the 1968 New Hampshire primary. SYNONYMS primary ADJ 1
chief: Financial stress is well established as a chief reason for divorce.
main: My main concern now is to protect the children.
principaclass="underline" The principal reason for my change of mind is my health.
leading: Britain's future as a leading industrial nation depends on investment.
pri |ma|ry ca re N‑UNCOUNT Primary care refers to those parts of the health service, such as general practitioners and hospital casualty departments, that deal with people who are in immediate need of medical care. □ …the crucial roles of primary care and of preventive work.
pri |ma|ry co l|our (primary colours ) in AM, use primary color N‑COUNT [usu pl] Primary colours are basic colours that can be mixed together to produce other colours. They are usually considered to be red, yellow, blue, and sometimes green. □ It comes in bright primary colours that kids will love.
pri |ma|ry school (primary schools ) N‑VAR [oft in names] A primary school is a school for children between the ages of 5 and 11. [mainly BRIT ] □ …eight- to nine-year-olds in their third year at primary school. □ Greenside Primary School. in AM, usually use elementary school
pri|mate /pra I me I t/ (primates ) The pronunciation /pra I mət/ is also used for meaning 2 . 1 N‑COUNT A primate is a member of the group of mammals which includes humans, monkeys, and apes. □ The woolly spider monkey is the largest primate in the Americas.
2 N‑COUNT The Primate of a particular country or region is the most important priest in that country or region. □ …the Roman Catholic Primate of All Ireland.
prime ◆◇◇ /pra I m/ (primes , priming , primed )
1 ADJ [ADJ n] You use prime to describe something that is most important in a situation. □ Political stability, meanwhile, will be a prime concern. □ It could be a prime target for guerrilla attack. □ The police will see me as the prime suspect!
2 ADJ [ADJ n] You use prime to describe something that is of the best possible quality. □ It was one of the City's prime sites, near the Stock Exchange.
3 ADJ [ADJ n] You use prime to describe an example of a particular kind of thing that is absolutely typical. □ Marianne North was a prime example of Victorian womanhood of the more adventurous kind.