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Priestley

American  
[preest-lee] / ˈprist li /

noun

  1. J(ohn) B(oynton) 1894–1984, English novelist.

  2. Joseph, 1733–1804, English chemist, author, and clergyman.


Priestley British  
/ ˈpriːstlɪ /

noun

  1. J ( ohn ) B ( oynton ). 1894–1984, English author. His works include the novels The Good Companions (1929) and Angel Pavement (1930) and the play An Inspector Calls (1946)

  2. Joseph. 1733–1804, English chemist, political theorist, and clergyman, in the US from 1794. He discovered oxygen (1774) independently of Scheele and isolated and described many other gases

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Priestley Scientific  
/ prēstlē /
  1. British chemist who discovered oxygen (1774) and 10 other gases, including hydrogen chloride, sulphur dioxide, and ammonia.


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:

The BBC contacted Priestley for a response but he declined to comment.

From BBC Mar. 31, 2026

Priestley was initially arrested on suspicion of fraud before being released pending further inquiries.

From BBC Mar. 31, 2026

Dr. Priestley said: "This was a really fun project to work on in my PhD, and I hope this research brings more attention to the importance of sugars in the immune system."

From Science Daily Feb. 25, 2026

"They are looking for the underdog to win, but they're all going to be underdogs when they play Luke Littler," two-time world champion Dennis Priestley told BBC Radio 5 Live.

From BBC Dec. 30, 2025

That is, Priestley and Lavoisier did not both discover oxygen; they made very different discoveries.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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