priority

Definition

An item's relative importance.

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

• "He set his e-mail message's priority to high."
• "She needs to get her priorities straight and stop playing games."
• "In bankruptcy law, a business' debt to its employees has priority over its debt to a landlord, so the employees must be paid first."