Jump To:

• 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.

---

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.

---

Prior ³ American  

[prahy-er] / ˈpraɪ ər /

noun

1. Matthew, 1664–1721, English poet.

---

prior ¹ British  

/ ˈpraɪə /

adjective

1. (prenominal) previous; preceding

2. before; until

---

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

---

Prior ³ British  

/ ˈpraɪə /

noun

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

---

Other Word Forms

• priorship
  noun
• subpriorship
  noun
• priorly
  adverb

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

See Examples For:

prior Prior

"Under the settlement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million upon entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree entered against TikTok's predecessor, Musical.ly," the department said in a statement.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

That compares with a prior forecast of $4.40 to $4.60 a share.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

More than three times as many people went to emergency rooms within 10 miles of the warehouse mentioning the fire or smoke inhalation than two weeks prior.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Arday - who became Cambridge's youngest black professor in 2023 - was found dead in Battersea, south London, having resigned as a professor of sociology of education the week prior.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

The men—like Papa—who were forced to work as loggers there had no prior experience, so Hanako was always worried that her father would get killed.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

"Prior to this, our security team had even been preparing a simulation exercise, precisely because we understand the value to everyone -- our students, our personnel -- of safety."

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

Prior to this latest episode, the last time the number of negative-beta stocks peaked was in early 2001, as the dot-com bubble was deflating.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

Prior to sentencing, his lawyer, David Taylor, told the court Nabizada was "at risk of deportation" due to the conviction.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Prior to joining the Journal in 2020, Josh worked in video journalism in Washington, D.C., covering politics and making explainers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

“You’re always moping. We should start calling you Beatrice Prior, Queen of Tragedy.”

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

Related Words

• above-mentioned
• preceding
• previous