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• prior
  prior

  adjective

  preceding in time or in order; earlier or former; previous.
• Prior
  Prior

  noun

  Matthew, 1664–1721, English poet.

prior

¹ American  

[prahy-er] / ˈpraɪ ər /

adjective

1. preceding in time or in order; earlier or former; previous.

   A prior agreement prevents me from accepting this.

   Synonyms:

   antecedent, anterior

2. preceding in importance or privilege.

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noun

1. Informal. a prior conviction.

idioms

1. prior to, preceding; before.

   Prior to that time, buffalo had roamed the Great Plains in tremendous numbers.

prior ² American  

[prahy-er] / ˈpraɪ ər /

noun

1. an officer in a monastic order or religious house, sometimes next in rank below an abbot.

2. a chief magistrate, as in the medieval republic of Florence.

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Prior ³ American  

[prahy-er] / ˈpraɪ ər /

noun

1. Matthew, 1664–1721, English poet.

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prior ¹ British  

/ ˈpraɪə /

adjective

1. (prenominal) previous; preceding

2. before; until

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noun

1. statistics a prior probability

prior ² British  

/ ˈpraɪə /

noun

1. the superior of a house and community in certain religious orders

2. the deputy head of a monastery or abbey, ranking immediately below the abbot

3. (formerly) a chief magistrate in medieval Florence and other Italian republics

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Prior ³ British  

/ ˈpraɪə /

noun

1. Matthew. 1664–1721, English poet and diplomat, noted for his epigrammatic occasional verse

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Other Word Forms

• priorly
  adverb
• priorship
  noun
• subpriorship
  noun

Etymology

Origin of prior¹

First recorded in 1705–15; from Latin: “former, elder, superior” (adjective), “before” (adverb); akin to pre-, prime

Origin of prior²

First recorded before 1100; Middle English, late Old English, from Medieval Latin, Late Latin: “one superior in rank”; noun use of prior prior ¹

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

The former SNP leader attended a police interview by prior arrangement, was taken into custody, questioned by detectives and released without charge seven hours later.

From BBC • May 27, 2026

“Detectives are also examining whether the suspect and victim had any prior relationship or history of contact.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026

National Home Price Index increased 0.7% from one year prior, a slower gain than the 0.8% increase in February, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices data released Tuesday.

From Barron's • May 26, 2026

Anthropic’s projection for revenue for the second quarter, more than doubling its total for the prior quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

I discussed Dante's prior diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder following the attempted murder of his mother in my oral argument before the Mississippi Supreme Court.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• above-mentioned
• preceding
• previous