# priority

> English word · Noun · IPA /pɹaɪˈɒɹ.ɪ.ti/ · frequency rank #3,577

## Definitions
1. An item's relative importance.
2. A goal of a person or an organisation.
3. The quality of being earlier or coming first compared to another thing; the state of being prior.
4. A superior claim to use by virtue of being validly published at an earlier date.
5. Precedence; superior rank.
6. Right of way; The right to pass (an intersection) before other road users.

## Etymology
From Old French priorite, from Latin priōritās.
Surface analysis: prior + -ity.

## Easily confused with
- **priory** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/priority-vs-priory)

## Common misspellings (12)
`pirority`, `ppriority`, `prioirty`, `prioritty`, `priorityy`, `prioriyt`, `priorrity`, `priortiy`, `priroity`, `proirity`, `prriority`, `rpiority`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/priority