prior to

preposition

: in advance of : before

Usage of Prior to

Sometimes termed pompous or affected, prior to is a synonym of before that most often appears in rather formal contexts, such as the annual reports of corporations. It may occasionally emphasize the notion of anticipation.

page makeup decisions are verified and approved prior to typesetting

—Publishers Weekly

Synonyms

• afore [chiefly dialect]
• ahead of
• before
• ere
• fore [chiefly dialect]
• 'fore
• of
• previous to
• to

Examples of prior to in a Sentence

make sure all revisions are approved by the author prior to publication

Recent Examples on the Web

Tenants of the troubled Independence Towers apartment building started their week coping with the chaos of a fire, and finished it in negotiations with their new landlord, just prior to learning a fellow resident was charged with arson. —Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 23 June 2024

The service module is jettisoned prior to re-entry and burns up in the atmosphere. —William Harwood, CBS News, 21 June 2024

Fourth, these methodological issues are compounded by messy EHR data which should be cleaned prior to preforming predictive tasks. —Saurabh Gombar, STAT, 21 June 2024

Or that prior to its rail terminal days, Port Covington had a public beach? —Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 21 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1706, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

prior to

preposition

: in advance of : before