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prioritize

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prioritize

  • /pɹaɪˈɒɹ.ə.taɪz/ UK
  • [pɹaɪˈɒɹ.taɪz] UK
  • /pɹaɪˈoɹ.ə.taɪz/ Canada, US
  • [pɹaɪˈoɹ.taɪz] Canada, US
  • /pɹɑeˈɔɹ.ə.tɑez/ Australia
  • /pɹaɪˈɒɹ.ə.taɪz/ New Zealand
  • [pɹɑe̯ˈɔ̟ɹətɑe̯z] New Zealand

Where it comes from

From priority + -ize. First attested in 1967 as U.S. government jargon, becoming more widespread through the 1970s and ’80s, but still denounced as officialese by purists into the 1990s.

verb prioritizes · prioritizing · prioritized · prioritise

  1. transitive To value, do, or choose something first, or before other things. When I don't have time to buy everything at the store, I prioritize fresh fruit and vegetables over foods like rice or noodles.
  2. intransitive, transitive To arrange or list a group of things in order of priority or importance.
  3. transitive To rank something as having high priority.

Opposite: marginalize, disfocus

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: prioritise, prioritisation, ranking, classify, categorize, priority, precedence, prefer, preferred, favour, rank, focus, priorities, put ahead, come first, predilect

verb

Opposite: marginalize, disfocus

Translations

Every language

verb to arrange or list in order of priority or importance

Españolpriorizar, anteponer
中文優先考慮 /优先考虑 yōuxiān kǎolǜ
Portuguêspriorizar
Françaisprioriser
Deutschnach Wichtigkeit aufreihen, nach Wichtigkeit anordnen
Ελληνικάπροτεραιοποιώ proteraiopoió
Русскийприоритизи́ровать prioritizírovatʹ

verb to rank as having priority

Españolpriorizar
日本語優先させる yūsen saseru
中文確定優先順序 /确定优先顺序 quèdìng yōuxiān shùnxù
Françaisprioriser
Deutschpriorisieren, vorrangig behandeln, den Vorrang geben
Ελληνικάπροτεραιοποιώ proteraiopoió
Русскийприоритизи́ровать prioritizírovatʹ

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MLA

"prioritize." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/prioritize. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

prioritize. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/prioritize

Chicago

"prioritize." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/prioritize.

BibTeX
@misc{prioritize_2026,
  title = {prioritize},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/prioritize},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}