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 November, prices rose to a new monthly high, the typical home took 7 days longer to go under contract than a year prior, and new listings decreased to a new monthly low.

From The Wall Street Journal

An image from a prior Epstein files release showed a different, but similar email - [email protected] - listed in Epstein's phone book under a contact titled "Duke of York".

From BBC

It was postmarked from Virginia on Aug. 13, 2019, despite Epstein’s death in a Manhattan jail three days prior.

From Los Angeles Times

And on Tuesday, GDP data for October indicated that economic activity declined from the prior month, putting output on pace to post a small decline for the fourth quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal

At least two of the men had prior serious convictions.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• above-mentioned
• preceding
• previous