Definition of “priority” - English Dictionary

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“priority” in English

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prioritynoun [ C or U ]

uk /praɪˈɒr.ə.ti/ us /praɪˈɔːr.ə.t̬i/

B2 something that is very important and must be dealt with before other things:

The management did not seem to consider office safety to be a priority.

My first/top priority is to find somewhere to live.

You have to learn to get your priorities right/straight (= decide which are the most important jobs or problems and deal with them first).

Repairing the plumbing is a priority task (= more important than other jobs).

Banks normally give priority to large businesses when deciding on loans (= they deal with them first because they consider them most important).

Official business requirements obviously take/have priority over personal requests (= official business matters will be dealt with first).

More examples

We need to establish a new set of priorities.
You need to identify your priorities.
a low priority task
If agriculture were given priority, the country would easily be able to feed itself.
The establishment of new areas of employment is a priority.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Important and essential things

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

“priority” in American English

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

“priority” in Business English

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prioritynoun

uk /praɪˈɒrəti/ us plural priorities

› [ C ] something that you do or deal with first because it is more important or urgent than other things:

The company focuses on business priorities that make a difference: intense commitment to customer service and maintaining low costs.

strategic/corporate priorities

spending/financial/investment priorities

a top/number one/first priority For the Internal Revenue Service, protection of taxpayers' data is a top priority.

a high/clear priority Regulators, both globally and locally, need to define clearer priorities.

sb's priority is to do sth At the moment, our priority is to recruit high-calibre employees to supplement the existing staff.

make sth a priority Union representatives are anxious to make healthcare benefits a priority for their workers over the next few months.

identify/set/establish priorities The bank's board of directors was criticized for failing to set priorities.

a list/set of priorities Tackling the issue of World debt relief will be high on the list of priorities at next week's summit.

› [ U ] the state or fact of being the most important job or aim, compared to other jobs or aims:

high/low/top priority Euro MPs are now demanding higher priority for climate change policy.

take/have/get priority (over sth) Under certain circumstances, there may be special requirements that take priority over all others.

give sth priority/give priority to sth Both countries have given priority to corporate investment.

a priority area/sector Products across twelve priority sectors are now being traded freely between member states.

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

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priority

The different priority sectors mentioned also show an innovative approach to institutional development; the security issue, in particular, has indeed become one of the new political concerns.