as in priority
the right to one's attention before other things considered less important
his merchandise order takes precedence because we received it first
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Recent Examples of precedence
But Fleck took to social media on Tuesday to explain that the political implications of appearing at the venue have taken precedence over the music itself.
—
Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 6 Jan. 2026
Its organization as a continuous mix, where each track flows seamlessly into the next with no single genre taking precedence, gives it a distinctly modern feel, akin to the sprawling playlists us young Heartlanders used to soundtrack our drifts growing up.
—Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 19 Dec. 2025
When the consequence of getting something wrong is literally lights out, security and reliability have to take precedence over everything else.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 11 Dec. 2025
But the path to that decision could be bumpy, as policymakers are divided over whether stubborn inflation should take precedence.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 10 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for precedence
Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 6 Jan. 2026
Its organization as a continuous mix, where each track flows seamlessly into the next with no single genre taking precedence, gives it a distinctly modern feel, akin to the sprawling playlists us young Heartlanders used to soundtrack our drifts growing up.
—Billie Bugara, Pitchfork, 19 Dec. 2025
When the consequence of getting something wrong is literally lights out, security and reliability have to take precedence over everything else.
—Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 11 Dec. 2025
But the path to that decision could be bumpy, as policymakers are divided over whether stubborn inflation should take precedence.
—Brittney Melton, NPR, 10 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for precedence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for precedence
priority
Noun
-
Danes feel proud of Ørsted, which has succeeded financially while combatting climate change, a national priority.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2026
-
However, radio frequency spectrum and orbital positions are finite, and early entrants are able to secure long-term priority over these critical assets.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
11 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Precedence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/precedence. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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