From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishprioritypri‧or‧i‧ty1 /praɪˈɒrəti $ -ˈɔːr-/ ●●○ S3 W2 AWL noun (plural priorities) 1 [countable, uncountable]IMPORTANT the thing that you think is most important and that needs attention before anything else The club’s priority is to win the League.first/top/main priority The children are our first priority. After several burglaries in the area, security is now a high priority (=very important and needing attention soon). With so little money available, repairs must remain a low priority (=not important and not needing attention soon). The customer is high on our list of priorities. List your tasks in order of priority (=most important first).2 IMPORTANT[uncountable] the right to be given attention first and before other people or thingspriority over Buses should have priority over other road users. A young person who has finished the course will be given priority over one who has not. I want to start work on the garden but the house must take priority.3 → get your priorities rightCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1: the thing that you think is most important and that needs attention before anything elseadjectivesa high priority (=very important)Right now, the environment is a high priority.an urgent priorityHe sees these negotiations as an urgent priority.a low priority (=not very important)At that time, architecture was a low priority.the top/main/number one priorityControlling spending is his top priority.the first priorityThe first priority for most unemployed people is obtaining a job.the overriding priority (=the most important one)The reduction of inflation must be the Government’s overriding priority.somebody’s immediate priority (=which must be dealt with immediately)Their immediate priority was to find somewhere to sleep that night.phrasesa list/set of prioritiesMarriage isn’t very high on my list of priorities.in order of priority (=with the most important first)They asked voters to list issues in order of priority.verbsset priorities (=decide what the priorities are)With any new project, it's important to set priorities.sort out your priorities (=decide which things are the most important as a way of dealing with a situation)If you’ve got a lot of things to do, sort out your priorities.make something a priorityLisa had a job, but she'd always made her family the priority.somebody’s priorities changeAs you get older, your priorities may change. COLLOCATIONS – Meaning 2: the right to be given attention first and before other people or thingsverbshave priorityCouples may have to decide whose career has priority.get priorityThe breakdown services say that women on their own get priority.take priority (=become the most important thing)Winning the war took priority over everything else.give priority to somebody/somethingThe hospital always gives priority to emergency cases.
Examples from the Corpus
priority• There has been a priority of worship.• But equal priority is my people.• The President promised to give priority to reducing unemployment.• For years her highest priority had been a career.• The focus is priorities for improvements.• But black and ethnic minority subjects still have low priority in psychology.• My main priority is get through all my exams.• Safety has always been our number one priority.• Not long after expressing interest, general manager Dan Duquette decided he has other priorities.• First, let's decide what our priorities are.• Our priority right now is to get food and medical supplies to the region.• The priority after the divestiture, though, will be reducing debt, he said.• Aid for environmental planning in developing countries has been designated a top priority.in order of priority• To help you avoid over-reacting, put the items listed below in order of priority.• It is often better to be selective or list the problems in order of priority.• The referrals are usually sorted by a team leader, put in order of priority, and allocated to social workers.• Without water we would survive about four days, so in order of priority for life it's number two after oxygen.• He built up neat stacks in order of priority, slipped rubber bands around them, dropped them in his briefcase.• We'd like you to put them in order of priority to agree with our judges' decision.• A Health Care Commission was set up to rank hundreds of treatments in order of priority, using a formula similar to QALYs.take priority• The need to feed the addiction takes priority over all other activities, leading to personal neglect, anti-social behaviour and crime.• With the push to integrate, will the needs of the regular education child take priority over the special education child?• The national reconstruction agenda is taking priority.• If it's sold the first lender takes priority.• Commonality quickly took priority over distinctiveness.• The evidence was strong that the council subcommittee was persuaded before the public hearing that the Housing Commission should take priority.• How do you decide whom should take priority?• Those available will be busy rehabilitating stroke patients, who take priority.prioritypriority2 adjective before other people or things Members receive priority bookings and reduced ticket prices to all concerts.From Longman Business Dictionaryprioritypri‧or‧i‧ty /praɪˈɒrəti-ˈɔːr-/ noun (plural priorities) [countable]1the thing that is more important than anything else, and that needs attention firstCost-cutting measures continue to be thefirst priority at the company.The measures dominated Finland’s economic priorities.A free-trade pact with Mexico should be atop priority.2be given/have/get/take/ priority to be considered more important or needing more attention than anything else and therefore dealt with firstWorkers accepting redundancy will have priority for jobs elsewhere at G.M.American Express cardholders will be given priority booking at Forte hotels.Criminal cases take priority over civil suits. 