prefer
Americanverb (used with object)
-
prefers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
preferred,
past participle, past
-
preferring
present participle
-
to set or hold before or above other persons or things in estimation; like better; choose rather than.
to prefer beef to chicken.
- Antonyms:
- reject
-
Law. to give priority, as to one creditor over another.
-
to put forward or present (a statement, suit, charge, etc.) for consideration or sanction.
- Antonyms:
- retract
-
to put forward or advance, as in rank or office; promote.
to be preferred for advancement.
verb (used without object)
-
prefers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
preferred,
past participle, past
-
preferring
present participle
verb
-
(when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to like better or value more highly
I prefer to stand
-
law to give preference, esp to one creditor over others
-
(esp of the police) to put (charges) before a court, judge, magistrate, etc, for consideration and judgment
-
(tr; often passive) to advance in rank over another or others; promote
Usage
Normally, to is used after prefer and preferable, not than: I prefer Brahms to Tchaikovsky; a small income is preferable to no income at all . However, than or rather than should be used to link infinitives: I prefer to walk than/rather than to catch the train
Synonym Usage
See choose.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
prefersimple
-
preferssimple
-
have preferredperfect
-
has preferredperfect
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am preferringprogressive
-
are preferringprogressive
-
is preferringprogressive
-
have been preferringperfect progressive
-
has been preferringperfect progressive
Past
-
preferredsimple
-
had preferredperfect
-
was preferringprogressive
-
were preferringprogressive
-
had been preferringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prefer
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English preferren, prefer(re), from Anglo-French, Old French preferer, from Latin praeferre “to bear before, set before, prefer,” equivalent to prae- pre- + ferre to bear 1
Explanation
Prefer means to like better. If your parents prefer your sister to you, chances are her allowance will be higher and you'll get blamed for things she's done. If someone offers you hamburgers and hot dogs, it's more polite to say, "I'd prefer a hot dog," than "Blech, hamburgers. Gag me!" Note that prefer means not just to like, but to like better––you're comparing two or more things. Whether it be chocolate ice cream over other flavors, or getting going first thing in the morning as opposed to lounging in your PJs, what you prefer is called your preference. And if you like them all the same, you can say you have no preference
Vocabulary lists containing prefer
The Secret Life of Bees
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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The Circuit
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Kim bested Allen in the primary with 27.4% of the vote to his 19.4%, with an online campaign poll conducted for Allen in July showing that likely voters still prefer Kim by 7 points.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
“We’d prefer them not to be selling about $50 billion of Treasurys every time they intervene for little, if any, results,” said Eric Wallerstein, chief macro strategist at Clocktower Group.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
The potential issue I see is that the kind of shopper who wants that experience would probably prefer to go to a small vintage shop, rather than a big brand.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
"The sediment is home to 'gourmet' bacteria that apparently prefer fresh carbon stemming from, for example, more recent algal remains over the 'old' carbon from permafrost deposits," explains Gesine Mollenhauer.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026
Which...is sorta wack because I'd really prefer to get a new bike, phone, and laptop.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
He is right footed, although he prefers to play on the left wing, but can also play on the right or through the middle.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Much like Vought, he prefers to stay out of the limelight.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Breakfast is the same every day: three egg whites and spinach made by the office cafeteria chef, who knows the protein-to-greens ratio the boss prefers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
He prefers to make a longer-term analysis of valuations and concludes that memory chip businesses tend to spend too much in good times.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026
But he prefers to focus on hidden beauty, like rotting pumpkins and stormy skies.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
Araujo is under contract until 2031 but only made 11 league starts last season, with Gerard Martin and Pau Cubarsi emerging as their preferred central defensive pairing.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Nonetheless, a specific Bundibugyo vaccine remains the preferred option for fighting the current outbreak, they stressed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
On its website, the company lists Tencel, recycled cotton and dead-stock fabrics as some of its preferred materials to meet its sustainability standards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
He added that there was "no preferred option" in the consultation.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
As for the snake-girls, Nhamo would have preferred them to slither off to someone else’s dream.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
And he said he did not have any conversations with Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris about preferring to be traded to the Dodgers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Short-only funds like hers had been falling out of vogue, with investors instead preferring long-short funds or the fast-growing multi-managers that run sprawling portfolios and tightly manage risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Under owner Arte Moreno, the Angels have resisted rebuilding, preferring to add lower-tier free agents and rush college players to the major leagues in an effort to field a competitive roster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026
The MLPs have higher yields and some tax benefits, but many investors don’t like to get K-1 tax forms, preferring 1099s.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
However much he loved us, he couldn’t live with the madness in our Queens home, preferring to keep his old digs at 478 Carlton Avenue in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
