2 VERB If you prioritize the tasks that you have to do, you decide which are the most important and do them first. □ [V n] Make lists of what to do and prioritize your tasks. [Also V ]
pri|or|ity ◆◇◇ /pra I ɒ r I ti, [AM ] -ɔː r-/ (priorities )
1 N‑COUNT If something is a priority , it is the most important thing you have to do or deal with, or must be done or dealt with before everything else you have to do. □ Being a parent is her first priority. □ The government's priority is to build more power plants.
2 PHRASE If you give priority to something or someone, you treat them as more important than anything or anyone else. □ The school will give priority to science, maths and modern languages.
3 PHRASE If something takes priority or has priority over other things, it is regarded as being more important than them and is dealt with first. □ The fight against inflation took priority over measures to combat the deepening recession.
pri|ory /pra I əri/ (priories ) N‑COUNT [oft in names] A priory is a place where a small group of monks live and work together.
prise /pra I z/ → see prize
prism /pr I zəm/ (prisms ) N‑COUNT A prism is a block of clear glass or plastic which separates the light passing through it into different colours.
pris|on ◆◆◇ /pr I z ə n/ (prisons ) N‑VAR [oft in names] A prison is a building where criminals are kept as punishment or where people accused of a crime are kept before their trial. □ The prison's inmates are being kept in their cells. □ He was sentenced to life in prison. SYNONYMS prison NOUN 1
jaiclass="underline" Three prisoners escaped from a jail.
penitentiary: She works at the local penitentiary.
confinement: He had been held in solitary confinement for four months.
dungeon: They were thrown in a dungeon.
pri s|on camp (prison camps )
1 N‑COUNT A prison camp is a guarded camp where prisoners of war or political prisoners are kept. □ He was shot down over Denmark and spent three years in a prison camp.
2 N‑COUNT A prison camp is a prison where the prisoners are not considered dangerous and are allowed to work outside the prison. [AM ]
pris|on|er ◆◆◇ /pr I zənə r / (prisoners )
1 N‑COUNT A prisoner is a person who is kept in a prison as a punishment for a crime that they have committed. □ The committee is concerned about the large number of prisoners sharing cells.
2 N‑COUNT [oft hold/take n N ] A prisoner is a person who has been captured by an enemy, for example in war. □ …wartime hostages and concentration-camp prisoners. □ He was taken prisoner in North Africa in 1942.
3 N‑COUNT If you say that you are a prisoner of a situation, you mean that your are trapped by it. □ [+ of ] We are all prisoners of our childhood and feel an obligation to it. SYNONYMS prisoner NOUN 2
captive: He described the difficulties of surviving for four months as a captive.
hostage: It is hopeful that two hostages will be freed in the next few days.
detainee: They agreed to release all the detainees.
pri s|on|er of co n|science (prisoners of conscience ) N‑COUNT Prisoners of conscience are people who have been put into prison for their political or social beliefs or for breaking the law while protesting against a political or social system.
pri s|on|er of wa r (prisoners of war ) N‑COUNT Prisoners of war are soldiers who have been captured by their enemy during a war and kept as prisoners until the end of the war.
pris|sy /pr I si/ (prissier , prissiest ) ADJ If you say that someone is prissy , you are critical of them because they are very easily shocked by anything rude or bad. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ I grew to dislike the people from my background–they were rather uptight and prissy.
pris|tine /pr I stiːn/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] Pristine things are extremely clean or new. [FORMAL ] □ Now the house is in pristine condition.
pri|va|cy /pr I vəsi, [AM ] pra I -/
1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft poss N ] If you have privacy , you are in a place or situation which allows you to do things without other people seeing you or disturbing you. □ He saw the publication of this book as an embarrassing invasion of his privacy. □ …a collection of over 60 designs to try on in the privacy of your own home.
2 PHRASE If someone or something invades your privacy , they interfere in your life without your permission. □ The press invade people's privacy unjustifiably every day.
pri|vate ◆◆◇ /pra I v I t/ (privates )
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Private industries and services are owned or controlled by an individual person or a commercial company, rather than by the state or an official organization. [BUSINESS ] □ Bupa runs private hospitals in Britain. □ Brazil says its constitution forbids the private ownership of energy assets. ● pri|vate|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ No other European country had so few privately owned businesses. □ She was privately educated at schools in Ireland and Paris.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Private individuals are acting only for themselves, and are not representing any group, company, or organization. □ …the law's insistence that private citizens are not permitted to have weapons. □ The King was on a private visit to enable him to pray at the tombs of his ancestors.
3 ADJ [usu ADJ n] Your private things belong only to you, or may only be used by you. □ There are 76 individually furnished bedrooms, all with private bathrooms.