Meaning of “prime” in the English Dictionary

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"prime" in English

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primeadjective [ before noun ]

uk ​ /praɪm/ us ​ /praɪm/

C2 main or most important:

This is a prime example of 1930s architecture.
the prime suspect in a murder investigation
a prime source of evidence
The president is a prime (= likely) target for the assassin's bullet.

› of the best quality:

prime beef
The hotel is in a prime location in the city centre.

More examples

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

primenoun [ S ]

uk ​ /praɪm/ us ​ /praɪm/

primeverb [ T ]

uk ​ /praɪm/ us ​ /praɪm/

(Definition of “prime” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"prime" in American English

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primeadjective [ not gradable ]

us ​ /prɑɪm/

prime adjective [ not gradable ] (MAIN/BEST)

› most important, or of the best quality:

You’re a prime candidate to be spending money on foolish things.
This is a prime example of native Utah architecture.
The hospital is located on prime Upper East Side property.

Idiom(s)

in your/its prime
past your/its prime

primeverb [ T ]

us ​ /prɑɪm/

prime verb [ T ] (PREPARE)

› to prepare someone or something for the next stage in a process:

Their teachers are getting those kids primed for the tests.

› To prime a surface is to cover it with a special paint before the main paint is put on.

(Definition of “prime” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

"prime" in Business English

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primeadjective

uk ​ /praɪm/ us ​

› main or most important:

This is a prime example of good salesmanship.
Reckless lending was the prime cause of the crisis.
With a market value now of only £2.1bn, it remains a prime takeover target.

› of the best quality:

The hotel is in a prime location in the city centre.
The land is considered prime real estate that could eventually be used for homes.
Prime-1/Prime-2/Prime-3

› FINANCE a rating (= measurement of how good something is) given to a loan to show how much of a risk there is that the loan will not be paid back. A Prime-1 rating means that the risk is very low. A Prime-2 or Prime-3 rating means that the risk is higher:

Issuers rated Prime-1 have a superior ability for repayment of senior short-term debt obligations.

primenoun [ S ]

uk ​ /praɪm/ us ​

› the period in your life or your job when you are most active or successful:

in his/her/their prime He retired while he was still in his prime.
past my/your prime I plan to work way past my prime.

› US FINANCE, BANKING, ECONOMICS the lowest rate of interest that banks charge their best customers for loans over a short period and that is used for calculating the interest rates on other types of loan:

above/below prime The loan was issued at a variable interest rate of 1.5% above prime.
See also
base rate

primeverb [ T, usually passive ]

uk ​ /praɪm/ us ​

› to prepare someone or something for a particular situation:

I was well primed for the meeting and gave a very successful presentation.
The company is primed to move ahead with its public offering.
prime the pump

› to provide money, encouragement, ideas, etc. to help something get started:

Venture capital needs to be raised to prime the pump of startups, which are long on ideas but short on cash.

(Definition of “prime” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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