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• 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.

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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

Derived Forms

• subpriorship
  noun
• priorly
  adverb
• priorship
  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

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

England sent scouts 18 months prior and sought privacy, while Argentina signed up 72 hours after visiting Sporting KC’s facility.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

Standard & Poor’s, for example, waits until a stock has been publicly traded for at least a year and has turned a profit in four quarters, including the quarter prior to its addition.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

The yearly rate of inflation is projected to climb to 4.2% from 3.8% in the prior month, reaching the highest level since May 2023.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

In tech, Subramanian also notes, the spread between the best and worst performers of the sector has risen to the highest since February 2000, just prior to the market’s peak the following month.

From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026

The proposed legislation, of which Walter had no prior knowledge, went nowhere.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• above-mentioned
• preceding
• previous