preceding in time or in order; earlier or former; previous.
A prior agreement prevents me from accepting this.
preceding in importance or privilege.
an officer in a monastic order or religious house, sometimes next in rank below an abbot.
a chief magistrate, as in the medieval republic of Florence.
(prenominal) previous; preceding
before; until
the superior of a house and community in certain religious orders
the deputy head of a monastery or abbey, ranking immediately below the abbot
(formerly) a chief magistrate in medieval Florence and other Italian republics
First recorded in 1705–15; from Latin: “former, elder, superior” (adjective), “before” (adverb); akin to pre-, prime
First recorded before 1100; Middle English, late Old English, from Medieval Latin, Late Latin: “one superior in rank”; noun use of prior prior 1
Generally you should eat dinner prior to brushing your teeth. Use the adjective prior for things that exist earlier in time or that happen first in time or order. This is a formal word that is often used in legal language. A prior claim is a person's right to something that is considered more important or valuable because it came first. If you're looking for a less formal synonym, choose the word previous. Prior is from a Latin word with the same spelling.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Prior to the pandemic, "people weren't really talking about going to trade school, vocational schools, stuff like that. It was like: 'Go to college, get your four years.'"
From Barron's • Jul. 2, 2026
Prior to that, Hilton and his family lived in New York City for several years.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 30, 2026
Prior to publication, the White House, the FDA, and the Department of Health and Human Services all wouldn’t answer directly whether this applicant with “refractory obesity with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension” was Trump.
From Slate • Jun. 27, 2026
Prior renovations to 24 Sussex have drawn howls of outrage.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 26, 2026
Prior to coming to sabotage school, Dasch was always "hungry like the dickens," and he made sure to carefully divvy up his bread ration and carry it with him.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
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.
