Prior

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aɪə(r)

Origin

From Latin prior

Full definition of prior

Adjective

1. Of that which comes before, in advance.I had no prior knowledge you were coming.
2. former, previousHis prior residence was smaller than his current one.

Synonyms

Derived terms

• prior to

Adverb

1. (colloquial) Previously.The doctor had known three months prior.

Noun

1. A high-ranking member of a monastery, usually lower in rank than an abbot.
2. (US slang) A previous arrest or criminal conviction on someone's record. from 19th c.
• 1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, Penguin 2011, p. 53:‘And a little later we get the routine report on his prints from Washington, and he's got a prior back in Indiana, attempted hold-up six years ago.’
3. (statistics) In Bayesian inference, a prior probability distribution. from 20th c.