1
: earlier in time or order
2
: taking precedence (as in importance)
priorly
adverb
plural priors
1
a
: the superior ranking next to the abbot of a monastery
b
: the superior of a house or group of houses of any of various religious communities
2
US law enforcement, informal
: a previous instance of arrest or conviction for a crime
He had been told that burglary, like auto theft, rarely drew a state prison term, unless you had lots of priors.—
Joseph Wambaugh
Joseph WambaughSynonyms
Adjective
Examples of prior in a Sentence
Adjective
Do you have a prior history of back problems?
The job requires prior experience in advertising.
The defendant had a prior record of convictions.
I'm sorry, but we have a prior commitment and can't come tonight.
We have a prior claim to the estate.
Recent Examples on the Web
Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 10 Nov. 2024
The increase in cost ratio is due to revenue recorded in 2023 for COVID-19 testing services completed in prior periods.
—Quartz Bot, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024
Marc Schneider, Billboard, 3 May 2024
His car narrowly missed an unmarked law enforcement vehicle, which zips past less than a second prior.
—Tami Abdollah, USA TODAY, 19 May 2021
See all Example Sentences for prior 
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illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
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Adjective
And if the seller decides to keep the home, a claim in a future storm may get denied if the damage from a prior storm hasn’t been dealt with.
—Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post, 10 Nov. 2024
The increase in cost ratio is due to revenue recorded in 2023 for COVID-19 testing services completed in prior periods.
—Quartz Bot, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024
Noun
Greene’s priors include Beautiful Digital, Crowdsurf and TikTok.
—Marc Schneider, Billboard, 3 May 2024
His car narrowly missed an unmarked law enforcement vehicle, which zips past less than a second prior.
—Tami Abdollah, USA TODAY, 19 May 2021
See all Example Sentences for prior
Dictionary Entries Near prior
Cite this Entry
“Prior.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prior. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.
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