privilege
Americannoun
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privileges
plural
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a right, immunity, or benefit enjoyed by a particular person or a restricted group of people beyond the advantages of most.
Few people have access to the privileges of the very rich.
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the unearned and mostly unacknowledged societal advantage that a restricted group of people has over another group: male privilege;
white privilege based on skin color;
male privilege;
children of privilege.
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a special right, immunity, or exemption granted to persons in authority or office to free them from certain obligations or liabilities.
It's a privilege of a senator to speak in Congress without danger of a libel suit.
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a grant to an individual, corporation, etc., of a special right or immunity, under certain conditions.
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the principle or condition of enjoying special rights or immunities.
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any of the rights common to all citizens under a modern constitutional government.
We enjoy the privileges of a free people.
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an advantage or source of pleasure granted to a person.
It's my privilege to be here.
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Stock Exchange. an option to buy or sell stock at a stipulated price for a limited period of time, including puts, calls, spreads, and straddles.
verb (used with object)
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privileges,
present (3rd person singular)
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privileged,
past participle, past
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privileging
present participle
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to grant a privilege to.
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to exempt (usually followed byfrom ).
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to authorize or license (something otherwise forbidden).
noun
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a benefit, immunity, etc, granted under certain conditions
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the advantages and immunities enjoyed by a small usually powerful group or class, esp to the disadvantage of others
one of the obstacles to social harmony is privilege
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any of the fundamental rights guaranteed to the citizens of a country by its constitution
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the right of a lawyer to refuse to divulge information obtained in confidence from a client
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the right claimed by any of certain other functionaries to refuse to divulge information
executive privilege
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the rights and immunities enjoyed by members of most legislative bodies, such as freedom of speech, freedom from arrest in civil cases during a session, etc
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stock exchange a speculative contract permitting its purchaser to make optional purchases or sales of securities at a specified time over a limited period of time See also call put spread straddle
verb
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to bestow a privilege or privileges upon
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(foll by from) to free or exempt
Usage
Spelling tips for privilege The word privilege is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it is tempting to use an e in the place of one of the two is, as in privelege. Second, people often want to add a d after the g because of the way privilege is pronounced (priviledge). How to spell privilege: It's a privilege to have two eyes (Is) and legs. This helps remind you that privilege is spelled with two is and the final syllable does not have a d.
Synonym Usage
Privilege, prerogative refer to a special advantage or right possessed by an individual or group. A privilege is a right or advantage gained by birth, social position, effort, or concession. It can have either legal or personal sanction: the privilege of paying half fare; the privilege of calling whenever one wishes. Prerogative refers to an exclusive right claimed and granted, often officially or legally, on the basis of social status, heritage, gender, etc.: the prerogatives of a king; the prerogatives of management.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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privilegesimple
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privilegessimple
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have privilegedperfect
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has privilegedperfect
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am privilegingprogressive
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are privilegingprogressive
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is privilegingprogressive
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have been privilegingperfect progressive
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has been privilegingperfect progressive
Past
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privilegedsimple
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had privilegedperfect
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was privilegingprogressive
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were privilegingprogressive
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had been privilegingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of privilege
First recorded in 1125–75; (noun) Middle English; earlier privilegie, from Old French privilege, from Latin prīvilēgium originally, “a law (for or against an individual),” equivalent to prīvi- (combining form of prīvus “one's own, private”) + lēg- ( see legal) + -ium -ium; (verb) Middle English privilegen, from Middle French privilegier, from Medieval Latin prīvilēgiāre, derivative of prīvilēgium
Explanation
A privilege is a special advantage not enjoyed by everyone. If you're very snooty, you probably don't allow just anyone the privilege of being your friend. Privilege comes from Latin privilegium, meaning a law for just one person, and means a benefit enjoyed by an individual or group beyond what's available to others. Someone wealthy come from privilege. Someone with a library card has borrowing privileges. Privilege can also be used as a verb. If you are on a committee giving away scholarships, you'll have to decide whether to privilege students from poor backgrounds or the students with high test scores.
Vocabulary lists containing privilege
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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Bud, Not Buddy
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 26–31
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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:
"Her self-belief and commitment to her craft will always be inspirational and she will be fondly remembered by all who had the privilege of knowing her."
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026
"It has been a great pride and a huge privilege to serve this institution," Lagarde posted on X, announcing that she would resign nine months before her term officially ends in October 2027.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
“While his acceptance of responsibility is an important step, it cannot undo the devastating consequences of his actions. Pedro Valdez is missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
They’re not consumed by a desire to appear thankful for the privilege to make money from playing sports.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
Also, as seniors, you have the privilege of cutting in front of the lunchline.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
He added that the investment group also didn’t have the money to make the improvements they wanted for their vision of a private club with special privileges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026
Today’s housecats enjoy privileges that their ancestors could hardly have imagined.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The provider said in a deposition last year that he hadn’t done a procedure like that in over a decade and didn’t have hospital privileges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Harshey-Jones also pleaded guilty to a charge of corrupt or improper exercise of his police powers and privileges by looking up his own incident on the computer log.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
To them as to me, these simple privileges would be a miracle.
From "Black Like Me" by John Howard Griffin
Named after astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who helped overturn the belief that Earth sits at the center of the solar system, the principle holds that our location in the universe is not fundamentally special or privileged.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026
Only a quarter of students from low-income backgrounds go on to higher education in France, compared with nearly two thirds of pupils from privileged households, according to a 2023 government study.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Plus, I recognize how privileged we are to have financial help — and I always try to cut costs wherever I can.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
"I'm in a very privileged position to be able to do that... Buying your way out of the system or not being in at all is in itself a luxury. It buys you freedom."
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
I felt privileged to be allowed in an area that was typically off-limits to other students.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
News aimed to avoid privileging schools with a high concentration of degrees that pay well.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
The recommendations "are designed to hold our attention, and too often that means privileging provocative and extreme content because outrage drives engagement and engagement drives profit", Steven Roberts at Monash University said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
A psychologist argues that privileging “authenticity” in the workplace can lead to bad outcomes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
For instance, Google has been accused of privileging its own products in search results, while Apple has been accused of charging some developers exorbitant fees to be listed in its App Store.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 4, 2023
The Dream thrives on generalization, on limiting the number of possible questions, on privileging immediate answers.
From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
