prioritizev.
/prʌɪˈɒrᵻtʌɪz/, /ˈprʌɪərᵻtʌɪz/, U.S. /praɪˈɔrəˌtaɪz/, /ˈpraɪərəˌtaɪz/ Originally U.S.
1. transitive. To give priority to; to designate (something) as worthy of special attention.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > attach importance to > establish priorities > give priority to
to put before (to)a1382
prioritize1954
1954 W. Morris in Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 9 Nov. 4/7 Now they [sc. ‘finalize’ and ‘concretize’] seem..to be firmly embedded in the speech of government workers, along with ‘civilianize’..and ‘prioritize’ (give preferential rating to).
1973 T. H. White Making of President 1972 xii. 325 The storefront operators in the counties that Malek had ‘prioritized’ had identified independents, wavering Democrats and ‘don't knows’.
1982 E. Kallen Ethnicity & Human Rights Canada viii.199 Revitalization tends to prioritize collective rights claims, including nationhood claims, over and above individual rights claims.
1993 Time Out 31 Mar. 36/3 The works poke fun at building designs that prioritise style over function.
2006 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 11 June i. 11/2 (table) Bike Boulevards Roadways with special signage and other features that prioritize bicycles and discourage non-local motor-vehicle traffic.
2.
a. transitive. To arrange (items) to be dealt with in order of importance; to establish priorities for (a set of items).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [verb (transitive)] > attach importance to > establish priorities
prioritize1961
1961 Washington Post 5 Mar. e2/1 The District could do a better job of presenting its program. It often fails to ‘prioritize’ its requests, to use a silly word that just came to my attention the other day as the latest contribution to government jargon.
1977 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 15 May 33/5 A special committee had been struck..to prioritize their recommendations and to report.
1991 Internat. Jrnl. Project Managem. Feb. 30/2 The logic of planning by prioritizing events with respect to time becomes quite obscure.
2005 N.Z. Herald (Nexis) 2 Sept. At this point it is important to prioritise your list into the ‘must haves’ and the ‘preferables’.
b. intransitive. To establish priorities for a set of tasks.
ΚΠ
1977 Time 14 Mar. 28/2 From then on toward midnight, he tries, in his own words, ‘to prioritize’.
1992 Police Rev. 17 Jan. 108/4 Trying to balance both jobs is very difficult and demanding...He'll find, at certain times of the year, he'll have to prioritise.
2004 Wall St. Jrnl. 21 Dec. (Central ed.) b6/5 A hot file forces you to prioritize because you have to select which things will be included.
Derivatives
priˌoritiˈzation n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > assigning degrees of importance > prioritizing
prioritization1970
prioritizing1971
1970 Los Angeles Times 26 July b2/1 Prioritization—As used at one major aerospace firm, the act of ranking a system's desired features by assigning numerical weights, which..signal the urgency of each feature.
1981 Managem. Sci. 27 24 The penalty costs can be used to coerce prioritization of shift violations as an integral economic consideration.
2000 Brit. Jrnl. Gen. Practice 50 194/2 This appears to have led to a shift in national policy towards the prioritisation of those with SMI [sc. severe mental illness].
priˈoritized adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > prioritized
priority1849
prioritized1972
1972 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 4 Mar. 6/6 Specifically defined and prioritized goals and objectives.
1992 Dr. Dobb's Jrnl. Sept. 19/2 An analysis of these duplicate bugs can lead to a prioritized list of the most common problems for the developers to tackle first.
2005 National Jrnl. (U.S.) 11 June 1747/1 He sent the Homeland Security Department a sequenced, prioritized five-year plan.
priˈoritizing n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > assigning degrees of importance > prioritizing
prioritization1970
prioritizing1971
1971 Daily Rev. (Hayward, Calif.) 6 May 19/2 The groups are directed to ‘prioritize’ their lists. This section is called ‘prioritizing’.
1977 Time 14 Mar. 28/2 Prioritizing takes him into the Oval Office to talk each day with the President and to drop in on..Vice President Mondale.
2000 A. Bourdain Kitchen Confid. (2001) 188 Soon, there'll be a choo-choo train of sauté pans lined up waiting for heat, requiring constant prioritizing.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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v.1954