prioritize

[prahy-awr-i-tahyz, -or-]

verb (used with object), pri·or·i·tized, pri·or·i·tiz·ing.

to arrange or do in order of priority: learning to prioritize our assignments.

to give a high priority to.

verb (used without object), pri·or·i·tized, pri·or·i·tiz·ing.

to organize or deal with something according to its priority.

Also especially British, pri·or·i·tise.

Origin of prioritize

First recorded in 1965–70; priorit(y) + -ize

Related formspri·or·i·ti·za·tion, nounre·pri·or·i·ti·za·tion, nounre·pri·or·i·tize, verb (used with object), re·pri·or·i·tized, re·pri·or·i·tiz·ing.

Usage note

See -ize.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for prioritized

register, compute, prioritize, feed, set, figure, process, design, poll, calculate, itemize, book, draft, schedule, slate, formulate, estimate, arrange, engage, edit

Examples from the Web for prioritized

Contemporary Examples of prioritized

If any of these got prioritized and funded to the extent of amyloid, we might be a lot closer to getting a drug than we are now.
Twenty Years of Alzheimer’s Research May Have Focused on the Wrong Protein
Elizabeth Lopatto
April 4, 2014
Second, he prioritized procuring equipment that would help minimize the threat of roadside bombs.
The Book America Needs to Read Right Now
John Kael Weston
January 20, 2014
He prioritized spiritual values and humanistic principles above market forces and hedonistic impulses.
David Foster Wallace, Traditionalist? Considering ‘Both Flesh and Not: Essays’
David Masciotra
November 2, 2012
A murse is the opposite; a bag where form is prioritized over function.
Rise of the Man Purse
Isabel Wilkinson
October 13, 2011
These books tell us happiness can be prioritized, studied, improved upon.
The New, New Happiness
Abigail Pogrebin
March 5, 2010

British Dictionary definitions for prioritized

prioritize

prioritise

verb (tr)

to arrange (items to be attended to) in order of their relative importance

to give priority to or establish as a priority

Derived Formsprioritization or prioritisation, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for prioritized

prioritize

1972, apparently coined during the U.S. presidential contest that year, from root of priority + -ize. Related: Prioritized; prioritizing.