priority
/pɹaɪˈoɹəti/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.41 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
4
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The quality of being earlier or coming first compared to another thing; the state of being prior.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A superior claim to use by virtue of being validly published at an earlier date.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Right of way; The right to pass (an intersection) before other road users.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "He set his e-mail message's priority to high."
- "She needs to get her priorities straight and stop playing games."
- "In bankruptcy law, a business' debt to its employees has priority over its debt to a landlord, so the employees must be paid first."
- "But it's now platform extension work which will allow the station to handle LNER Azuma trains which needs to take priority, if a direct service to London King's Cross is to begin in 2021."
- "Neither [Jones][…] nor I (in 1966) could conceive of reducing our "science" to the ultimate absurdity of reading Finnish newspapers almost a century and a half old in order to establish "priority.""
- "Follow Cominius. We must follow you. / Right worthy you priority."
Etymology
From Old French priorite, from Latin priōritās. Surface analysis: prior + -ity.
Origin
- Source language: Old French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /pɹaɪˈoɹəti/
- British English: /pɹaɪˈɒɹɪti/