adj

prior

PREYE-uh

adj

Coming before in time or order; earlier.

"She had no prior experience in retail before this job."

"The meeting was rescheduled due to a prior commitment."

noun

A senior member of a religious order, ranking just below an abbot.

"The prior welcomed the visiting monks into the monastery."

How to Use Prior

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishHappening or existing before something else — or, in religious life, a rank of monastic official.

Common mistake

"Prior to" is a somewhat formal way of saying "before"; in everyday speech, "before" usually reads more naturally.

Common pairings

prior to prior experience prior commitment prior notice

more prior comparative, priors plural, priors plural, most prior superlative

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She had no _____ experience in retail before this job.

A learned borrowing from Latin prior, meaning "earlier" or "former" — related to before, fore, and former.

senior junior savior warrior anterior interior exterior behavior inferior superior ulterior posterior