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# primer

«primer» in Mova's school dictionary: **a first, easy book for learning to read or to count, or a…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (primer, primers)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A primer is a first, easy book for learning to read or to count, or a short book that teaches the basics of a subject. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/primer/#m1)

2) Primer is also a first coat of paint that helps the top paint stick. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/primer/#m2)

3) A primer is also a small part that sets off a firework or bullet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/primer/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In maths: a word of the story (a school book) or paint used before the main paint; old arithmetic primers had many problems. In history: children learned from primers in old schools. In art and building: primer goes on bare wood or metal first.

### examples

- The old arithmetic primer has 100 problems. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/primer/#x1)
- He bought a can of primer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/primer/#x2)
- The primer costs 12 dollars. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/primer/#x3)
- Children long ago learned to read from a primer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/primer/#x4)
- Paint the fence with primer before the red paint. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/primer/#x5)
- This book is a primer on how volcanoes work. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/primer/#x6)
- Let the primer dry before the next coat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/primer/#x7)

### note

Carries no operation by itself. In old books «primer» is the name of a school book. Trap: primer paint is counted like other paint, in cans or liters. Pronunciation: the book is often said «PRIM-er» (USA) and the paint «PRY-mer».

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «primer» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/primer/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.