seniority

se·nior·i·ty
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UK/siːnɪˈɒɹɪti/US/sinˈjɔɹɪti/New York City, Philadelphia/sinˈjɑɹɪti/

noun

A measure of the amount of time a person has been a member of an organization, as compared to other members, and with an eye towards awarding privileges to those who have been members longer.

“It's an old-fashioned company, with parking spaces and other perks doled out on the basis of seniority.”

Similar
anciennityeldershipsenior statushigher statushigher ranklongevity
OriginMiddle English senyoryte ← Medieval Latin senioritas ← Latin senior →
Less commonScrabble 12
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Meanings

nounseniority (countable and uncountable, plural seniorities)

plural seniorities

  1. countableuncountableA measure of the amount of time a person has been a member of an organization, as compared to other members, and with an eye towards awarding privileges to those who have been members longer.

    It's an old-fashioned company, with parking spaces and other perks doled out on the basis of seniority.

    Synonyms: anciennity, eldership

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA measure of the amount of time a person has been a member of an organization, as compared to other members, and with an eye towards awarding privileges to those who have been members longer.

Similar
anciennityeldership

More synonyms by meaning

nounhigher rank than that of others especially by reason of longer service

Similar
senior statushigher statushigher rank
Broader
high status

nounthe property of being long-lived

Similar
longevity
Broader
oldness
Also see
agelongevityprioritysenior status

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinsenior“elder”
  2. Medieval Latinsenioritas
  3. Middle Englishsenyoryte
  4. Englishseniority

From Middle English senyoryte, from Medieval Latin senioritas, from Latin senior (“elder”).

More words from Middle English, Medieval Latin, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian трудов стаж
  • трудов стаж (trudov staž)time
Danish anciennitet
  • anciennitettime
Dutch senioriteit, anciënniteit
  • senioriteittime
  • anciënniteittime
French ancienneté, séniorité
  • anciennetétime
  • sénioritétime
German Anciennität, Seniorität
  • Anciennitättime
  • Senioritättime
Greek αρχαιότητα
  • αρχαιότητα (archaiótita)time
Hindi वरिष्ठता
  • वरिष्ठता (variṣṭhatā)time
Indonesian senioritas
  • senioritastime
Norwegian Bokmål ansiennitet
  • ansiennitettime
Russian стаж
  • стаж (staž)time
Spanish antigüedad, arraigo laboral
  • antigüedadtime
  • arraigo laboraltime
  • señoríatime
  • veteraníatime
  • enraizamiento institucionaltime
  • radicación grupaltime
Swedish anciennitet, tjänsteålder
  • anciennitettime
  • tjänsteåldertime
Vietnamese thâm niên
  • thâm niêntime
Yiddish סטאַזש
  • סטאַזש (stazh)time

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with seniority

authorityprioritymajorityminoritysororitysuperiorityinferiorityanteriorityexteriority
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

seniority. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seniority

MLA

“seniority.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seniority. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “seniority,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/seniority.

Source: seniority on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.