prior

Prior is part of the Academic Word List. It is important for students in college and university.

Pronunciation

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Preposition

Preposition prior

1. If something happens prior to something else, it happens before it.

   In this recipe, most of the work is actually done prior to cooking.

   Prior to 1917 most people had lived on private farms.

Adjective

Positive prior

Comparative none

Superlative none

1. (usually before the noun) occurring before

   We learned that police had had prior knowledge of the attack.

   Few of these workers have any substantial prior experience in industry.

Synonyms

• previous
• earlier