priory
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of priory
1250–1300; Middle English priorie < Medieval Latin priōria. See prior 2, -y 3
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Enthralled by Burbage’s big talk, John Brayne sold his house, let his business slide and coughed up the money needed to begin construction amid the ruins of a medieval priory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025
Mottisfont, halfway between Salisbury and Winchester, is now a grand 18th Century house, built on the priory site, with a popular rose garden and grounds.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2023
The ruins of a priory, with its dramatic rainbow arch, still stand, as does a Tudor castle whose imposing silhouette dominates the landscape.
From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2022
They returned this month and have uncovered the remains of several buildings beneath the ruin, including what may have been a medieval priory.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2021
The gravel path lay open and clear in the gray twilight and the little glow of yellow from the priory windows.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
And Alison is the kind of plucky heroine who teases her lover about his research: “Lost treasures, haunted priories, secret maps? I think I saw that movie once.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Throughout the show, Downey weaves in reflections on his life, family and shifting priories in recent years, specifically as they relate to the future of the planet.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 21, 2023
The tax agreement has been one of Ms. Yellen’s top priories as Treasury secretary.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2022
His companions were genuine lay brothers, able to lead him through the marshes and waterways to isolated hermitages and priories, where he would be able to plan his next moves.
From BBC ● Dec. 26, 2020
He could not nominate to any of the higher dignities of the order; but he might, with the advice and consent of some of the most reputable knights, appoint to the inferior priories and preceptories.
From Secret Societies of the Middle Ages by Keightley, Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
