priority

B2 Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /pɹaɪˈɔɹ.(ə.)ti/ UK /pɹaɪˈɒɹ.ɪ.ti/ See IPA manual

Freq #4392

Meanings

1

noun
Something that is more important than other things and needs attention first.

Getting a good night's sleep before the exam was her top priority.
2

noun
The state of being treated as more important than something else.

Emergency cases are given priority in the hospital.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · the state of being treated... precedence

More anteriority

Opposites

disfocus

Word family

Forms priorities

Derived forms aperture-prioritynonpriorityprioritarianprioritiedprioritiseprioritizationprioritizesubpriorityunpriority

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

give priority
To treat something as more important or urgent than competing matters.

Verb + noun

Etymology

From Old French priorite, from Latin priōritās. Surface analysis: prior + -ity.

priorite Old French priōritās Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas

External links

# priority

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /pɹaɪˈɔɹ.(ə.)ti/
**IPA (UK):** /pɹaɪˈɒɹ.ɪ.ti/
**Frequency rank:** 4392

## Meanings
1. Something that is more important than other things and needs attention first.
2. The state of being treated as more important than something else.

## Examples
- Getting a good night's sleep before the exam was her top priority.
- Emergency cases are given priority in the hospital.

## Synonyms
- anteriority

## Antonyms
- disfocus

## Derived Forms
- aperture-priority
- nonpriority
- prioritarian
- prioritied
- prioritise
- prioritization
- prioritize
- subpriority
- unpriority

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: priorite
- Root: priōritās

## Etymology
From Old French priorite, from Latin priōritās. Surface analysis: prior + -ity.

## AI Etymology
Priority comes from Old French priorite, from Latin priōritās. Surface analysis: prior + -ity. The historical chain includes priorite (Old French), priōritās (Latin). In present-day English it covers something that is more important than other things and needs attention first and the state of being treated as more important than something else. The wider family includes derived forms such as aperture-priority, nonpriority, prioritarian, prioritied, prioritise.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas

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