Meaning & use
party primary
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Meaning
nouncountableAmerican
an election in which members or supporters of a political party choose the party's candidate for a later general election
Grammar: Countable: use a/an or the plural party primaries.
Patterns
- hold a party primary
- win a party primary
- in a party primary
- the party primary system
The state holds its party primary in June.
She won the party primary by a narrow margin.
Party primaries often attract fewer voters than the general election.
Word forms
| plural | party primaries |
|---|
Common combinations
- hold a party primary
- The county will hold a party primary next Tuesday.
- win a party primary
- He hopes to win the party primary and then the Senate seat.
- party primary election
- The party primary election results were announced late at night.
- presidential party primary
- The presidential party primary season begins in January.
Synonyms and how they differ
- primary election
- This is the general term for any primary; party primary emphasizes that it is run by or for a political party.
- primary
- Primary alone is common in US English and usually means the same thing in context.
Word family
Commonly confused: party primary or caucus?
party primary vs caucus
A caucus is a local meeting where party members discuss and choose candidates, while a party primary is a direct vote by voters.
Practice
In US politics, what is a party primary?
Choose one answer.
A party primary is an election where voters select a party's candidate. Option 0 describes a caucus, option 2 is the general election, and option 3 is a legislative vote.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “party primary”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.