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• prius
  prius

  adjective

  (in prescriptions) before; former.
• Prius
  Prius

  noun

  a brand of hybrid car, one of the first commercially successful, that runs at lower speeds on an electric motor powered by a battery pack, and at higher speeds on a gasoline engine, which can also recharge the battery.

prius

¹ American  

[prahy-uhs] / ˈpraɪ əs /

adjective

1. (in prescriptions) before; former.

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Prius ² American  

[pree-uhs] / ˈpri əs /

noun

Trademark.

• Prius,
  plural
• Prii
  plural

1. a brand of hybrid car, one of the first commercially successful, that runs at lower speeds on an electric motor powered by a battery pack, and at higher speeds on a gasoline engine, which can also recharge the battery.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• Prii
  plural
• Prius
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of prius¹

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1890–95

Origin of Prius²

1997; from the Latin prius meaning “coming before”; also related to such English words as “prior” and “primary”

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prius Prius

Thought, the universal, the Idea, form--call it what you will--this is the ultimate reality, the foundation of the world, the absolute prius of all things.

From A Critical History of Greek Philosophy by W. T. (Walter Terence) Stace

The nisi prius clause, however, was not then introduced for the first time.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" by Various

As a lawyer, he is at home in the grave and studied discussions at banc, and in the showy and extemporaneous contests at nisi prius.

From Sketches of Reforms and Reformers, of Great Britain and Ireland by Henry B. Stanton

It is best to leave things to go their own way, deeper and deeper into the mire, till they come to a stand-still there of their own accord; for 'Quos deus vult perdere prius dementat.'

From Freedom in Science and Teaching. from the German of Ernst Haeckel by Thomas Henry Huxley

With the ardour of true genius, he wandered to the untrodden paths of the little Isle of Man for a subject, and aspired     petere inde coronam, Unde prius nulli velarint tempora Musæ.

From Cursory Observations on the Poems Attributed to Thomas Rowley (1782) by James M. Kuist

They sold a 2021 Mitsubishi car for $15,000 and bought a cheaper Prius that had good gas mileage for $8,000 in cash.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

At the time the viability of electric vehicles as a large market was a pipedream and the Prius was the world's first mass-produced petrol and electric hybrid.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Translation: This is no Prius, but part of a new breed of plug-in hybrid supercars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

The Prius and Elantra appeared to have been involved in an earlier collision, a crash report said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026

She drove her Prius to the Cache County courthouse.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

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