prioritize

• prioritise (British)

From priority +‎ -ize. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /pɹaɪˈɒɹətaɪz/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /pɹaɪˈɔːɹətaɪz/

prioritize (third-person singular simple present prioritizes, present participle prioritizing, simple past and past participle prioritized)

1. (transitive) To 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.

   • 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 4 June 2022, pages 205–206:

     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. "

   • 2015 November, 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 11:

     In 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.

   • 2017, Andy Weir, chapter 17, in Artemis, pages 295-6:

     Loretta's already designing the next smelter. She has some improvements in mind. The new one will prioritize silicon extraction and—

   • 2022 February 1, Lourdes Avila Uribe, “Everything You Need To Know About 'Skinimalism', The Latest Beauty Trend”, in HuffPost‎:

     Skinimalism prioritizes skin health and lets your natural beauty shine through.

2. (transitive, intransitive) To arrange or list a group of things in order of priority or importance.
3. (transitive) To rank something as having high priority.

• marginalize

• reprioritize, reprioritise

• prioritization

• “prioritize”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “prioritize”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “prioritize”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.