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
-
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:
Some financial analysts compared Bessent’s maneuvers to “rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic”—which probably isn’t an analogy he’d prefer to see!
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
There is ample evidence to believe Ossoff’s rebuffs that he might prefer his home in Atlanta to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Indeed, condominium prices have been cooling in L.A. , but people continue to prefer to rent.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
"We know that AI makes a lot of mistakes...it's too difficult to get to a human being... we know that people prefer people...you just ask anybody that they're sick of all the bots."
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
“I’d prefer the uniform, sir,” I said with a tight-lipped smile.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
In high school, he was a choir kid, and though he can “listen to just about anything,” he prefers “west coast rap.”
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
Toure - who is only eight months older than Diomande, now of Real Madrid - prefers to operate down the left flank, although he can be effective on both sides.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
The world of “Lanterns” prefers to be bracingly honest about our false assumptions about heroism and whether the people we deem to be noble really are.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
The billionaire has since repeated that he is keeping the option of striking Tehran on the table, but prefers to stress the economic damage inflicted on the country through economic sanctions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
“I think...I think I want you to take him, Connor. Let’s face it, he much prefers your company.”
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
The trimmed mean and weighted median measures of underlying inflation preferred by the Bank of Canada averaged 1.95% annually compared with 1.9% a month earlier and close to the central bank’s 2% inflation target.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
“The open question remains: Is she the preferred candidate of African Americans? We’ll see in the general.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
Rep. Byron Donalds, the president’s preferred nominee for governor, did win his primary, but with less than 50 percent of the vote.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
The latest readings of consumer inflation and the Fed's preferred gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, have shown an attenuation, but levels remain well above the two-percent target.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Ordinarily, she preferred hunting outside the theater, perhaps finding an evening minyan she could join or a wedding to crash.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
In his younger days Bailey was less interested in parliamentary process, preferring direct action.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Clients have drifted away from Song Oh-soon's fortune-telling village on the edge of Seoul, preferring online AI-powered divination to the centuries-old prophesying tradition still practised there.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 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
Anne Gust Brown, wife of Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown, tended to shy away from the public, preferring to work behind the scenes as an unpaid aide.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Her mother refused to buy them for her, preferring instead to buy white socks, navy blue school underpants, four gray blouses, and a dark gray skirt.
From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
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.
