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

Example Sentences

In a sentencing memorandum ahead of the hearing Wednesday, Sangha’s defense attorneys, Mark J. Geragos and Alexandra Kazarian, noted that their client had no prior criminal history and had been incarcerated since August 2024.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

In a statement sent to the BBC earlier in April a defence ministry spokesman confirmed that males aged 17 and older were required to obtain prior approval for stays abroad lasting longer than three months.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

“In prior technological transformations, labor had time to adjust and retrain.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

“We acknowledge the reactive appearance of this call, but what we interpreted as a bottoming process, akin to prior cycles last year, appears less so now,” Zener wrote in a note to clients.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026

Even if Mendel was aware of a potential connection between his “units of heredity” and evolution—his prior notes had certainly indicated that he had sought such a link—he made no explicit comments on the topic.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• above-mentioned
• preceding
• previous