primacy
Americannoun
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the state of being first in order, rank, importance, etc.
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Also called primateship. English Ecclesiastics. the office, rank, or dignity of a primate.
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Roman Catholic Church. the jurisdiction of a bishop, as a patriarch, over other bishoprics, or the supreme jurisdiction of the pope as supreme bishop.
noun
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the state of being first in rank, grade, etc
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Christianity the office, rank, or jurisdiction of a primate or senior bishop or (in the Roman Catholic Church) the pope
Etymology
Origin of primacy
1350–1400; Middle English primacie < Medieval Latin prīmātia, alteration of Latin prīmātus ( prīm ( us ) prime + -ātus -ate 3 ); see -y 3
Explanation
Something with primacy has first importance. If you are deciding who to take on an all-expenses-paid trip up the Amazon, the quality of being chill and fun might take primacy over the number of years you've been friends. Primacy comes from primary, meaning first, and it is like a condition of always having first place. If you are the teacher’s pet, you might have primacy over your classmates. You can also talk about primacy within a field. Madonna, Beyonce, and Shakira have all at one time or another achieved primacy in the field of pop music. Keep practicing, maybe you'll be next.
Vocabulary lists containing primacy
Power Suffix: -acy
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President Obama's Farewell Address
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4.3: Origins and Impact of the Western European Empires in the North Atlantic (Sources 1–9)
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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.
For years, critics have argued that the dollar’s place of primacy would erode, to no avail.
From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026
Yet Janick’s success comes at a time when the primacy of the major label is arguably under threat.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 30, 2026
Drawing on nearly 90,000 assessments, the largest data set of its kind, the results challenge the conventional wisdom about the primacy of family in our culture, with implications both personal and professional.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
West Yorkshire Police said it "is working in close partnership with the Home Office, which has assumed primacy for the investigation into the matters highlighted in recent BBC reporting".
From BBC • Nov. 17, 2025
The histories of the Fertile Crescent and China also hold a salutary lesson for the modern world: circumstances change, and past primacy is no guarantee of future primacy.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
