prefer
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to set or hold before or above other persons or things in estimation; like better; choose rather than.
to prefer beef to chicken.
- Antonyms:
- reject
-
Law. to give priority, as to one creditor over another.
-
to put forward or present (a statement, suit, charge, etc.) for consideration or sanction.
- Antonyms:
- retract
-
to put forward or advance, as in rank or office; promote.
to be preferred for advancement.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to like better or value more highly
I prefer to stand
-
law to give preference, esp to one creditor over others
-
(esp of the police) to put (charges) before a court, judge, magistrate, etc, for consideration and judgment
-
(tr; often passive) to advance in rank over another or others; promote
Usage
Normally, to is used after prefer and preferable, not than: I prefer Brahms to Tchaikovsky; a small income is preferable to no income at all . However, than or rather than should be used to link infinitives: I prefer to walk than/rather than to catch the train
Related Words
See choose.
Other Word Forms
- preferredly adverb
- preferredness noun
- preferrer noun
- unpreferred adjective
Etymology
Origin of prefer
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English preferren, prefer(re), from Anglo-French, Old French preferer, from Latin praeferre “to bear before, set before, prefer,” equivalent to prae- pre- + ferre to bear 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Their waiter Amir, who preferred not to share his last name, ferried packed peach-and-pineapple hookahs and tall glasses of pressed watermelon juice from the cafe’s kitchen to the table.
From Los Angeles Times
Energy is excluded from the core personal consumption expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation.
From Barron's
Druckenmiller said such portfolio building would take into account a strengthening U.S. economy and potential for Fed rate cuts, though, given highly valued equities, he prefers longer positions in a more “eclectic basket of stocks.”
From MarketWatch
“Even after considering the preferred equity component in our original Heinz investment, our return has been well short of adequate.”
From MarketWatch
But the other siblings prefer not to draw attention to their candy royalty status, he said.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
