1
: earlier in time or order
2
: taking precedence (as in importance)
priorly
adverb
plural priors
1
a
: the superior ranking next to the abbot of a monastery
b
: the superior of a house or group of houses of any of various religious communities
2
US law enforcement, informal
: a previous instance of arrest or conviction for a crime
He had been told that burglary, like auto theft, rarely drew a state prison term, unless you had lots of priors.—Joseph Wambaugh
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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