priority
Pluralpriorities
- 1How important something is compared with other things.
Like deciding which jobs to do first when you have a long list.
Safety is always the top priority on a building site.
We ranked each task by its priority before we started work.
Similarprecedence, importance, rank, weight
- 2
- 3The state of being more important and coming before others in rank or order.
Like being let to the front of a line because you matter more.
First-class passengers get priority when boarding the plane.
Members are given priority over guests at the club.
Similarprecedence, preference
Note
- 4Being earlier than something else, or coming first in time.
Like proving who got there first by checking the time on each photo.
The priority of his idea was clear from the dated letters.
We can show the priority of one event over another using timestamps.
Similarprecedence
Note
- 5The right to go through a junction before other road users.
Like one person being allowed to walk through a doorway first.
Cars on the main road have priority at this junction.
Give priority to traffic coming from your right.
Similarprecedence
Note
- 6The stronger claim a name has because it was published first.
Like the first person to officially register a name getting to keep it.
The older name has priority, so scientists keep using it.
Because it was named first, that name takes priority.
Similarprecedence
Note
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of priority apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
It comes from Old French "priorite" and Latin "priōritās", based on "prior".