Meanings
present singular third person prioritizes · participle present prioritizing · participle past prioritized · past prioritized · alternative UK prioritise
- transitiveTo 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.
4 more examples
Boeing's article stressed prioritizing roll control during recovery from nose-down bank upsets unless the airplane was in a stall condition; if the airplane was stalled, Boeing recommended recovering from the stall before recovering from the upset. The article described the nose-down upset recovery technique as follows: "Reduce angle of attack. This unloads the wing, allows the airplane to accelerate, which reduces rudder deflection and improves lateral control ability. […]"
1999 March 24, National Transportation Safety Board, “1.18.10.2.3 1997 Through 1998—Information and Changes Disseminated by Boeing”, in Aircraft Accident Report: Uncontrolled Descent and Collision with Terrain, USAir Flight 427, Boeing 737-300, N513AU, Near Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1994, archived from the original on 04 Jun 2022, pages 205–206In 2005 Houston Methodist Hospital (HMH) established a Sepsis Care Management Performance Improvement (CMPI) committee and prioritized sepsis detection and management in its ICUs, using the approaches of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign.
2015 November 28, Stephen L Jones, Carol M Ashton, Lisa Kiehne, Elizabeth Gigliotti, Charyl Bell-Gordon, Maureen Disbot, Faisal Masud, Beverly A Shirkey, Nelda P. Wray, “Reductions in sepsis mortality and costs after design and implementation of a nurse-based early recognition and response program”, in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, volume 41, number 11Loretta's already designing the next smelter. She has some improvements in mind. The new one will prioritize silicon extraction and—
2017, Andy Weir, chapter 17, in Artemis, pages 295-6Skinimalism prioritizes skin health and lets your natural beauty shine through.
2022 February 1, Lourdes Avila Uribe, “Everything You Need To Know About 'Skinimalism', The Latest Beauty Trend”, in HuffPost - intransitivetransitiveTo arrange or list a group of things in order of priority or importance.
- transitiveTo rank something as having high priority.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
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.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian приоритизи́рам
- приоритизи́рам (prioritizíram)to arrange or list in order of priority or importance
Catalan prioritzar
- prioritzarto rank as having priority
Chinese Mandarin 優先考慮 /优先考虑, 確定優先順序 /确定优先顺序
- 優先考慮 /优先考虑 (yōuxiān kǎolǜ)to arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- 確定優先順序 /确定优先顺序 (quèdìng yōuxiān shùnxù)to rank as having priority
Czech stanovit pořadí důležitosti, stanovit priority
- stanovit pořadí důležitostito arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- stanovit priorityto arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- upřednostňovatto rank as having priority
Esperanto laŭprioritatigi, prioritatigi
- laŭprioritatigito arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- prioritatigito rank as having priority
Finnish priorisoida, asettaa/laittaa tärkeysjärjestykseen
- priorisoidato arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- asettaa/laittaa tärkeysjärjestykseento arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- priorisoidato rank as having priority
French prioriser, prioriser
- prioriserto arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- prioriserto rank as having priority
German nach Wichtigkeit aufreihen, nach Wichtigkeit anordnen
- nach Wichtigkeit aufreihento arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- nach Wichtigkeit anordnento arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- priorisierento rank as having priority
- vorrangig behandelnto rank as having priority
- den Vorrang gebento rank as having priority
Greek προτεραιοποιώ, προτεραιοποιώ
- προτεραιοποιώ (proteraiopoió)to arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- προτεραιοποιώ (proteraiopoió)to rank as having priority
Japanese 優先させる
- 優先させる (yūsen saseru)to rank as having priority
Māori whakaarotau
- whakaarotauto arrange or list in order of priority or importance
Portuguese priorizar
- priorizarto arrange or list in order of priority or importance
Russian приоритизи́ровать, приоритизи́ровать
- приоритизи́ровать (prioritizírovatʹ)to arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- приоритизи́ровать (prioritizírovatʹ)to rank as having priority
Spanish priorizar, anteponer
- priorizarto arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- anteponerto arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- priorizarto rank as having priority
Swedish prioritera, prioritera
- prioriterato arrange or list in order of priority or importance
- prioriterato rank as having priority
Turkish önceliklendirmek
- önceliklendirmekto arrange or list in order of priority or importance
Cite this entry
prioritize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prioritize
“prioritize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prioritize. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prioritize,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prioritize.
Source: prioritize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.