prime
noun
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Definition of prime
(Entry 1 of 3)
prime
adjectiveDefinition of prime (Entry 2 of 3)
prime
verbDefinition of prime (Entry 3 of 3)
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Synonyms for prime
Synonyms: Noun
bloom, blossom, florescence, floruit, flower, flush, heyday, high noon, salad days, springtime
Synonyms: Adjective
chief, commanding, first, foremost, head, high, lead, leading, preeminent, premier, presiding, primary, principal, supereminent, supreme, top
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Examples of prime in a Sentence
Noun
young college graduates in the prime of life The interest rate is two percent plus prime.Adjective
The wine industry is of prime importance to the California economy. The police have not yet named the prime suspect in the murder investigation. The house is expensive because it's in a prime location.Verb
She was obviously primed for the questions at the press conference. Both teams are primed for battle and ready to play. We sanded and primed the woodwork before painting.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
There are a lot of great superstars in their primes in the American League right now, and Trout's selection here is no mark against the likes of Francisco Lindor, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Mookie Betts, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. — Ted Berg, USA TODAY, "Picking every MLB division and award for 2018," 27 Mar. 2018 Elliott, who rushed for 983 yards and seven touchdowns despite missing six games because of a suspension in his second season, is about to hit the prime of his career, Tomlinson said. — Stefan Stevenson, star-telegram, "Ezekiel Elliott has some work to do, this Hall of Famer says. "I think he understands what he means to the Dallas Cowboys." | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 19 May 2018 The efficiency of the Venetian stroke allows gondoliers to continue rowing beyond their athletic prime. — Jillian Berman, WSJ, "A Model Gondolier With a Relentless Regimen," 20 Oct. 2018 Well past his prime at age 35, O’Neal was an odd fit for D’Antoni’s free-flowing system. — Connor Letourneau, San Francisco Chronicle, "Steve Kerr, Mike D’Antoni: Hoops savants who clashed in the past," 11 May 2018 Even Fujifilm’s sometimes-sluggish f/1.4 primes have gotten a shot in the arm and seem to lock focus faster on the X-T3. — Chris Welch, The Verge, "Fujifilm X-T3 review: the do-everything camera," 24 Oct. 2018 Corn relish makes for a prime topping, and this is the time of year to do it. — Becky Krystal, The Seattle Times, "Quick and easy garnishes to glam up your plain, boring food," 4 Sep. 2018 What better way to start a new school year and prime yourself to be creative and productive than to do a space refresh? — Madeline O'malley, Teen Vogue, "Back to School Awards 2018: Best Dorm Decor," 1 Aug. 2018 The Turkish prime ministry issued a temporary media ban Sunday night on reporting the aftermath of the accident, citing national security and public order. — Washington Post, "Turkey: Train derailment kills at least 10, injures 73," 8 July 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Included in her haul: family games that hadn’t been played in years, handbags past their prime, shoes, ornaments and bedding. ... — Rhiannon Hoyle, WSJ, "Marie Kondo Isn’t Sparking Joy for Thrift Stores," 6 Mar. 2019 Each Superior Glass Apartment comes equipped with a living area, a mini-kitchen, an upstairs loft with prime-time Aurora Borealis-viewing glass ceilings, a private bathroom, and its own private outdoor hot spa and sauna. — Elizabeth Gulino, House Beautiful, "The Snowman Glass Resort Is the Winter Vacation of Your Dreams," 20 Feb. 2019 The truth is that the prime strength of London fashion now is its diversity. — Sarah Mower, Vogue, "The Brexit Deadline Is Looming—Here’s How It Will Affect London Fashion Week," 14 Feb. 2019 To achieve the best finish, sand the entire car back down to the bare metal, giving the new prime coat a perfectly smooth surface to adhere to. — Anthony Alaniz, Popular Mechanics, "How to Paint a Car," 4 Feb. 2019 All those years without a South title, and now the Utes are in prime position to be the first team to win two in a row. 2. — Jon Wilner Pac-12 Hotline, The Seattle Times, "Way-too-early Pac-12 football predictions: Can Washington rule the North once again?," 23 Jan. 2019 Kiewit Infrastructure West, prime contractor for the $40 million job, has settled on its final strategy for the work, which senior operations manager Phil Wallace outlined in an interview. — Mike Lindblom, The Seattle Times, "Seattle’s big demolition spectacle: How crews plan to pulverize the Alaskan Way Viaduct," 5 Dec. 2018 Sofas: Who hasn't encountered a seating arrangement marked by a sofa that's clearly past its prime? — Bridget Mallon, ELLE Decor, "Here's the Real Lifespan of 10 Common Home Items," 14 Aug. 2018 The best part of sports is watching players in their prime. — Jamie Samuelsen, Detroit Free Press, "Jamie: Could Big3 basketball league happen in other sports?," 13 July 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
This is what leads to a spiral into fear, isolation, and shame — feelings that prime us for depression, anxiety, and weight-cycling. — Jaclyn London, Ms, Rd, Cdn, Good Housekeeping, "Willpower Is a Weight-Loss Scam That's Fueling the Diet Industry," 22 Feb. 2019 In a Spectre attack, the attacker will try to prime the processor to predict a certain way and then use that misprediction to leak information. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Spectre, Meltdown researchers unveil 7 more speculative execution attacks," 14 Nov. 2018 Who Hofmann decides to prime the network with could set the tone. — Julia Alexander, The Verge, "Byte’s creator culture will make or break Vine 2," 18 Dec. 2018 The previous speed record-holder—at least for ants—is the trap-jaw ant, which uses a combination of highly specialized muscles to prime its jaw before using a different set to snap it shut at speeds around 50 miles per hour. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "The Dracula Ant's Lightning Mandibles Make It the Fastest Animal in the World," 12 Dec. 2018 Did the Tamagotchi prime us to become slaves to meaningless beeping? — Sarah Jeong, The Verge, "My Tamagotchi is everything that went wrong with our future," 17 June 2018 And over the last few years developer Square Enix has been attempting to prime the global market to make DQXI a hit. — Andrew Webster, The Verge, "Dragon Quest XI could be the one," 26 June 2018 Too bad Sum of All Fears did so little to prime the public for such debates. — Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "Hollywood Has No Idea How Nukes Work," 2 Apr. 2018 And try to prime attendees for any special expectations right from the outset. — Priya Parker, WSJ, "We’ve Got to Stop Meeting Like This: Tips for Better Workplace Gatherings," 4 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'prime.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for prime
prime
nounFinancial Definition of prime
What It Is
In the finance world, prime is short for prime rate, which is the interest rate commercial banks charge their most creditworthy customers, which are usually corporations.
How It Works
Anyone who has borrowed money knows that different banks charge different interest rates. So when people refer to the prime rate, they are usually referring to the average prime rate among banks. The Wall Street Journal is the most common source for this statistic. It calculates the average prime rate by surveying the 30 largest banks in the U.S. Below is a sample graph of the historical average prime rate published by the Federal Reserve, which surveys 25 banks across the nation.
In general, the rate is the same among nearly all the surveyed banks, and they tend to change their rates at the same time. When 75% of these banks (23 banks) change their rates, The Wall Street Journal changes its average.
Why It Matters
Prime is one of the most widely used market indicators, albeit a lagging one, and it is a major benchmark for mortgage and credit card rates. It is often the basis for adjustable-rate loans. For example, if a bank is offering a home equity loan at “prime plus 5” and its prime rate is 6%, then the bank is essentially offering borrowers an 11% loan (6% + 5%) whose interest rate will fluctuate with the prime rate. It is important to remember that not everyone qualifies for prime -- this rate is only for customers least likely to default.
Source: Investing Answers
prime
noun
English Language Learners Definition of prime
(Entry 1 of 3)
prime
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of prime (Entry 2 of 3)
prime
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of prime (Entry 3 of 3)
See the full definition for prime in the English Language Learners Dictionary
prime
noun
\
Kids Definition of prime
(Entry 1 of 3)
prime
adjectiveKids Definition of prime (Entry 2 of 3)
prime
verbKids Definition of prime (Entry 3 of 3)
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prime
nounLegal Definition of prime
(Entry 1 of 2)
prime
transitive verbLegal Definition of prime (Entry 2 of 2)
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