priority
English meaning: Priority
Definition
An item's relative importance.
Example
“He set his e-mail message's priority to high.”
Another example: “Safety must always take priority over speed on the construction site.”
Usage — When, Where & How
The relative importance of something, or the right to precede ('top priority', 'set priorities'). Neutral to formal; common in management, planning and computing ('high-priority task'). British 'priorities' / US same.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Medieval Latin 'prioritas', from Latin 'prior' 'former, earlier'; 14th century.
Synonyms
- precedence
- antecedence
- anteriority
- precedency
- antecedency
Antonyms / Opposites
- unimportance
- triviality
Related Words
- queue
- priorities
- scheduling
- lending
- corridor
- poorly
- flora
- wildlife
- tasks
- conservation
Common Collocations
- top priority
- high priority
- set priorities
- priority list
- give priority
Word Forms
priority (n); priorities; prioritize (v); prior (adj)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B