prior

/ˈpɹaɪ.ə/

//ˈpɹaɪ.ə// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"prior" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prior” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,493. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,493
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Coming before in order or time; earlier, former, previous.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prior · prior · English

prior · rank #1,493 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,493
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH powerful

Nearest frequency peer: powerful (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “prior”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “prior” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

prior vs pro
60% similar
prior vs pros
60% similar
prior vs prom
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for prior
PropertyValue
Headwordprior
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈpɹaɪ.ə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,493
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “prior”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).priorlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “powerful” (#1,492), “protection” (#1,494), “placed” (#1,491). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “prior” is #1,493. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around prior (IPA /ˈpɹaɪ.ə/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,493 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for prior, with forms such as "piror", "pprior", and "priorr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "pro", "pros", "prom", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin prior (“earlier, former, previous, prior; in front; (figurative) better, superior”), from Proto-Italic *priōs (“earlier, previous”, literally “more before”), ultimately from *pri (“before”) (from Proto-Indo-Eu… The correct English form is prior, spelled P-R-I-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Coming before in order or time; earlier, former, previous.
  2. 2
    More important or significant.
  3. 3
    Chiefly in prior probability: of the probability of an event: determined without knowledge of the occurrence of other events that bear on it, before additional data is collected.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how prior appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. His prior residence was smaller than his current one.
  2. I had no prior knowledge you were coming.

Etymology

The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin prior (“earlier, former, previous, prior; in front; (figurative) better, superior”), from Proto-Italic *priōs (“earlier, previous”, literally “more before”), ultimately from *pri (“before”) (from Proto-Indo-European *pró (“leading to, toward”) and its etymon *per- (“before, in front; first”)) + *-jōs (suffix forming comparative adjectives). Doublet of before, fore, and former. The adverb and noun are derived from the adjective.

This word in other languages

previo(Español)préalable(Français)vorausgehend(Deutsch)prévio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • piror
  • pprior
  • priorr
  • priro
  • proir
  • prrior
  • rpior

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prior - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

piror2pprior1priorr1priro2proir2prrior1rpior2
Edit distance from "prior"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "prior"?
"prior" is spelled P-R-I-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɹaɪ.ə/.
What does "prior" mean?
As an adjective, "prior" means: Coming before in order or time; earlier, former, previous.
What words are commonly confused with "prior"?
"prior" is commonly confused with "pro", "pros", "prom". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prior"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prior" is /ˈpɹaɪ.ə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "prior"?
The adjective is a learned borrowing from Latin prior (“earlier, former, previous, prior; in front; (figurative) better, superior”), from Proto-Italic *priōs (“earlier, previous”, literally “more before”), ultimately from *pri (“before”) (from Pro... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "prior", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

royal#1,500glass#1,485serve#1,502broke#1,477

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

who's7 variantsaccept7 variantsbottom7 variantsnotes7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list