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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

• 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

Former Times staff writer Michael Kupper wrote this obituary prior to his death in 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

In 2025, the average single-family home valued around $494,000 saw a 3% increase in property taxes from the prior year, according to a report by property-data company Attom.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

He also said he emailed UnitedHealthcare prior to the conference "posing as an investor" and asking questions about the event.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Second-quarter growth likely slowed to 1.6% compared with the same period a year ago from the 2.8% expansion seen in the prior quarter, Maybank economist Erica Tay said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

But the purpose of the drills was to see how rapidly people could reach the room at any hour of the day or night without prior notice.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Prior to the manufacturing-data release, economists had upgraded their second-quarter forecasts amid a string of positive Canadian data to above 3%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Prior to Thursday’s stock pop, shares of Workday were down 18% this year.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

Prior to her death, Friends of Big Bear Valley acknowledged it’s impossible to know what the future holds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Prior to his appointment with the Lions, Flintoff helped coach England's white-ball sides on an informal basis, having left his position as a presenter on television driving programme Top Gear.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

“Someone,” William barreled on, “we believe Prior Michelangelo, sent men to Ville Sainte-Geneviève to desecrate the holy dog’s grave. This girl, Jeanne, had a vision it would happen.”

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

Related Words

• above-mentioned
• preceding
• previous