priority

/praɪˈɒrəti/ (bre, ipa) · /praɪˈɔːrəti/ (ame, ipa) · /prī-ˈȯr-ə-tē -ˈär-/ (ame, mw)

priority — noun

  • prioritysingular
  • prioritiesplural

1. a task, issue, or goal that you choose to address ahead of other possible things

1.名詞B2
釋義

a task, issue, or goal that you choose to address ahead of other possible things because it matters most to you at that moment.

例句

Setting up the new nursery is the team's top priority right now.

collocation: top priority

The hospital gives priority to patients with the most serious injuries.

pattern: give priority to [someone/something]

同義詞
  • precedence

    more formal; stresses being first in order, rank, or time rather than importance (e.g., royal protocol gives precedence to the eldest child)

  • urgency

    focuses on time-pressure rather than relative importance; something urgent may not be important long-term

  • importance

    broader term for significance; does not carry the idea of sequential handling that priority implies

反義詞

文法句型

[adjective] priority

give priority to [someone/something]

take priority over [someone/something]

[possessive] priorities

用法筆記

Can be countable when referring to specific items (a priority, several priorities), or uncountable when referring to the concept of preferred treatment or order (priority, without an article). The uncountable form is common in institutional contexts such as give priority to.

常見錯誤

❌This is a priority thing for me.
✅This is a priority for me.
💡Priority is already a noun; adding thing is redundant and ungrammatical.
❌I have a priority to finish my homework.
✅Finishing my homework is a priority for me.
💡Priority names what matters most, not an obligation or duty.