prime1 adjectiveprime2 nounprime3 verb
primeprime1 /praɪm/ ●○○ AWL adjective [only before noun] 
WORD ORIGINprime1
Origin:
1300-1400 French, Latin primus ‘first’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- prime cuts of beef
- Bigley was named the prime suspect in the murder.
- Cheryl is a prime candidate for the new managerial position.
- Our prime concern is for the child's safety.
- The FBI regarded him as its prime suspect in the case.
- The mall is in a prime location, visible from the freeway.
- Tourists are prime targets for theft and robbery.
- Prime ministerial power, and therefore prime ministerial government is challenged.
- At least in Baja California, real estate should remain a prime factor in building new economic muscle.
- But perhaps its prime message is the crucial role that Rosat is likely to play in our understanding of these issues.
- Geoffrey Rippon, who was in charge of negotiations, reported to Whitelaw more often than to Heath, the prime minister.
- He argued that agglomeration diseconomies were the prime explanation for the decentralization.
- If so, the place for you is Usenet news, the Net's prime discussion area.
- Mr Kravchuk has clearly been rankled by polls which show that his prime minister is twice as popular as he is.
- The prime minister was primus inter pares in the cabinet-the first among equals.
THESAURUS
larger or more important than all the others: · the main entrance of the building· the main reason for his decision
most important. Chief and principal are more formal than main, and are often used in written English: · Coffee is the country’s principal export.· What is the company’s chief objective?
very important or serious: · Smoking is a major cause of heart disease.· Street crime is becoming a major problem.
most important, or the one that everything or everyone else depends on: · Education is likely to be a key issue in the election campaign.· Hooper was a key member of the team.· Diet is key.
especially spoken most important or best – this phrase sounds a little informal and it is used especially in spoken English: · Reliability is the number one priority.· the number one cause of death· He is still in the number one position.
most important – used especially about the most important aim, role, cause, or concern. Primary is more formal than main: · The primary aim of the project was to help students develop their communication skills.· Security is our primary concern.· The primary function of the university was considered to be the teaching of ‘the great cultural disciplines’.
very important or most important – used especially about the most important reason, cause, or aim, or about the most likely target or suspect.Prime is more formal than main: · Their prime objective is to increase profits for their shareholders.· Tourists are prime targets for theft and robbery.
most important – used especially about the things that people should pay most attention to: · the core skills of reading and writing· He wants the company to focus on its core business – advertising.· The party’s core values are individual freedom and reducing the amount of government bureaucracy.
most important and having more influence than anything else: · The U.S. played a central role in the peace negotiations.· a central theme of the book· The central question is, why are people still so attached to their cars?
most common, typical, or important: · Yellow was the predominant colour everywhere.· High arched windows are a predominant feature in English churches.· New York still has a predominant role in the contemporary art world.·
Longman Language Activatormore important than anything else more important than anything else: · Ben's main problem was lack of money.· You should clearly state your main idea at the beginning of the essay.· We walked up the stairs to the main entrance of the building.· The main reason kids don't get vaccinated is that parents don't realize how important it is.
more important than anything else. Chief and principal mean the same as main , but they are used especially in written or formal English: · Coffee is the country's principal export.· Kendall's chief complaint about the opera is that the characters are not historically accurate.· The chief purpose of the march was to draw attention to the poor condition of schools.
one of the most important or serious things - use this especially when there is a small number of really important things, but a larger number of less important things: · Smoking is a major cause of heart disease.· I thought we agreed to talk to each other before making any major decisions.major city (=large and important city): · Gang activity that was limited to major cities has now spilled over to towns and rural areas.
a key person or thing is one that is the most important because everything depends on them: · We don't have much time, so let's concentrate on the key issues.· Transport and communications are key areas of the economy.be key to (doing) something: · Laws are key to maintaining an orderly society.
: primary concern/responsibility/reason/role etc the most important one: · As always, security is our primary concern.· Financial reward is the primary reason most people work.
: prime suspect/target/candidate the one most likely to be chosen: · Tourists are prime targets for theft and robbery. · The FBI regarded him as its prime suspect in the case.· Cheryl is a prime candidate for the new managerial position.
more noticeable, more powerful, or more common than others: · Yellow is the predominant color in most of his paintings.· When we visited the country, our predominant impression was one of poverty and hardship.
use this about the main and most important parts of a subject, activity, plan etc: · We concentrate most on teaching the core skills of reading, writing, and mathematics.· The government will discuss what they say are the core issues of education and health care.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY
He was named as the prime suspect in the murder investigation. Good management is of prime importance in business.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
He was named as the prime suspect in the murder investigation. Good management is of prime importance in business. (=very typical)· This is a classic example of how not to run a business.· The pot is a perfect example of the Marine Style.· This is a prime example of government incompetence.
(=the main motive)· Concern was her prime motive in visiting Mrs Green.
(=a number such as 13 that can be divided only by itself and 1)· After 7, what is the next prime number?
(=the main one)· The primary objective of training is to improve performance.
(=the lowest rate of interest at which companies can borrow money from a bank)· The amount above the prime rate is determined by the bank’s assessment of the risk involved in making the loan.
· She didn’t realise he was the prime suspect in a murder case.
(=the most suitable or most likely to be chosen)· Sporting events could become a prime target for terrorists.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN· Another prime candidate for nostalgia this Christmas is Otis Redding.· San Francisco-based Bechtel is one of five companies in a consortium that is considered the prime candidate to build the 68-mile railroad.· We would have thought this was a prime candidate for disclosure.· Vinyl and aluminum siding are prime candidates to take flight in a high wind.· In this area there is a surprising lack of desktop publishing software as it is obviously a prime candidate.· This young woman seems a prime candidate.· Joseph was a prime candidate for deportation.· All prime candidates, a few hundred years ago, for the Witchfinder General.
· It remains a prime cause of inflation.· The prime cause, they believe, was a succession of dry summers in the mid-1970s.· Indeed, it is arguable that the different speeds of financial liberalisation are a prime cause of world trade and savings imbalances.· Nevertheless, the craftsmanship revealed - whether the harmony is a casual result or a prime cause -; is remarkable.· Britain has a political problem - and it is a prime cause of its economic problems.· Poor ventilation and damp will almost certainly be the prime causes.
· Opposing forces were in precarious balance, and resolving their tug-of-war was his prime concern.· Compare that with London or Paris, whose well-being is a prime concern of national governments.· Reform of workhouse infirmaries was one of her prime concerns.· Thirdly, the main decisions are taken by commercial interests which depend upon shareholders whose prime concern is to make money.· Money, Suggs readily admits, was a prime concern.· Individuals and their relationship to the social world were also the prime concern of Thomas.· The college should have as its prime concern the nurture of ethics and integrity; they are the core of any professions.· For their prime concern is conserving and showing plants.
· The prime example discussed by Stepp and Michalski involved classifying simple pictures of goods trains.· Jimmy Buffett and Steve Winwood are prime examples.· Sherlock Holmes is the prime example.· A prime example is the Rio Vista West project.· Eighteen-year-old Linda Charley is a prime example.· The lycee was a prime example of old-fashioned fluency-last pedagogy.· He was a prime example of self-disparagement.· Some of it is merely popular or a prime example of a genre.
· The key to any understanding of the prime importance of the Soviet press is contained in Lenin's remarks on its function.· These classic instances reveal above all the prime importance of communications.· To no other group of soldiers functioning in this period was leadership a factor of such prime importance.· The marriage is still of prime importance.· But no one ever mentions two things which seem to me of prime importance in the whole relationship saga.· He thought compatibility and interests which could be shared and understood were of prime importance.· Here, reliability of quality and delivery is of prime importance because the producer works on minimal stock-holding of raw materials.· The care of the environment is of prime importance to our business and is the responsibility of all employees.
· Lord Home, the last Etonian prime minister, disliked politics because it interfered with his sport.· On Grey's becoming prime minister in 1831, Creevey got the post of treasurer of the ordnance at £1,200 a year.· Kiichi Miyazawa, the prime minister, used to work in the finance ministry, which oversees the tax office.· Ramsay MacDonald, soon to be the first Labour prime minister, was one of its graduates.· Valtr Komarek Valtr Komarek, aged 59, is a deputy prime minister.· Labour's policies may change, the prime minister says, but the values that underpin them remain eternal.
· In 455 the Goths were to be the prime movers in his elevation to imperial office.· I congratulate you, prime mover!· The other prime mover was that the slump is now in its dying throes.· Since Public Opinion is supposed to be the prime mover in democracies, one might reasonably expect to find a vast literature.· Nor was he thinking about who really was the prime mover, for he thought he knew that already.· The press had become a prime mover in determining government policy and influencing public opinion.· Whoever they were, Ulf and Eglaf are unlikely to have been the prime movers in the attack on Cnut.· The prime mover was George Dodson.
· This instituted a partnership between central and local government with both having as a prime objective the promotion of the education service.· So more and more families moved to the suburbs, with better schools their prime objective.· Ability in the techniques of good management should be a prime objective of all surveyors.· Your prime objective should assist you in coming to terms with the most limiting aspect of verbal presentations.· Their prime objective was to learn, and it was easy to create a fun learning environment.· This was the prime objective and the closing of the card catalogue was a consequence.· The prime objective was to keep plateau production going for as long as possible through increased recovery and satellites.· Nevertheless, the prime objective of forest management remains that of timber production.
· It may have implications for social policy, but this is not the prime purpose.· The prime purpose might be to make money or to achieve a measure of self-sufficiency.· He said the bank's prime purpose was to protect depositors.· The prime purpose of John's nasal operation was remedial, now that he knew he wanted to make his career in ballet.
· Banks are now cutting their prime rates.· Today, the prime rate is 2. 83 percentage points higher than the yield on a 10-year government note.· At the time of writing, the prime rate is 8 percent and the rate of inflation is under 4 percent.· That includes containing increases in corporate lending rates like the long-term prime rate.· The long-term prime rate had been at a record low 2. 6 percent since early December.· The interest rate may be fixed, or it may float with the prime rate.
· Certainly, one of the prime reasons for powerlessness is lack of obedience.· It should not be the sole or prime reason or determinant of a decision.· There are three prime reasons why they are so important.· Again, one prime reason for developing cloning technology is to address these issues.· Again, this should not be the prime reason for having it in our services.· National service remained the prime reason for coalition.· The prime reason for this inequality is the geographical distribution of economic power.· That of course had not been his prime reason for going to Rhodes.
· His prime responsibility is the security of our prince.· Which organization will accept prime responsibility for the performance of the proposed facilities to specifications?· Again this is not her prime responsibility and preparation for teaching may be limited.· The Communist Party's paralysis is one factor, but the prime responsibility lies with Labour's manic political caution.· One prime responsibility of all states is the conduct of foreign policy.· If speculators do attack, the governors stress that the prime responsibility for protecting a currency should lie with the government concerned.
· This prime site is adjacent to the dual carriageway at the main entrance to the port.· M40 has eliminated a species of butterfly! 15% Shropshire prime site loss - Development Planning control.· Such factors of course make Northern Ireland a prime site for locating computer operations which can be done discreetly with no eyeballing required.· Fossil reefs are one of the prime sites to look for fossils of many different kinds besides the corals themselves.· In explorations of the texture of racist discourses in recent years, the inner city has been a prime site for investigation.· A male that has a string of prime sites and well-made nests attracts the most females.· This prime site in the heart of the capital used to be a parking lot.
· Efficiency in competition is thus a prime source of selection and occurs in many aspects of social life.· The third chapter is concerned with the prime source of information on the Earth: rocks and minerals.· A prime source of violence resides in the elitist educational strategies that are firmly rooted in the school ethos.· Noble landownership, the prime source of peasant resentment, was far from fading peacefully away.· For others, the arts and beauty are their prime source of pleasure and happiness.· Thus Blacks became a prime source of hostility for white unionists who set about erecting discriminatory barriers.· At the receiving end of refugees from the Middle Volga, Rostov-on-Don was the prime source of cholera outbreaks.
· It was only later that smoking was seen to be the prime suspect.· He's looking more and more like the prime suspect in a lengthening string of murders.· The prime suspect was Vic, though how would he know Mungo was in here?· Having met him, Dexter was convinced Lancaster was their prime suspect.· The prime suspect is a man in his 20s, who wears blue overalls and a red baseball cap.· Mr Pacey's new team has 500 prime suspects in its sights.· Only interviews with the prime suspects could enlighten us now but, instead, they served to confuse still further.
· The prime target market, then, is seen to be pre-retirement.· Although nationally distributed boxes do not change fronts often, the regional ones do, making them a prime target for collectors.· It was clear the police were looking for reporters, that they were prime targets.· The law and order section is a prime target for every kind of scam.· They are, therefore, a prime target for advertisers trying to reach an affluent market.
· So why don't you both get off prime time telly immediately and make way for the new generation?· Under no circumstances, however, should the Dole campaign let Buchanan speak during prime time at the Republican Convention.· What a sweet deal that is-the stars get to look caring in exchange for prime time product placement.· Blimey, the schedules must be crammed with quality home-grown shows to keep such a peach out of prime time.· The concluding town hall meeting will be broadcast in prime time.· The really interesting question is what will take its place in this vital prime time slot.· Media Research Center analysts studied all 1995 prime time entertainment programs on the networks.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1most important SYN main: - And if you understood that, you are a prime target for the party's newest election weapon.
- In addition, any enemy hit by a net is a prime target for a club attack as explained below.
- It was clear the police were looking for reporters, that they were prime targets.
- Joseph was a prime candidate for deportation.
- The law and order section is a prime target for every kind of scam.
- The school meals service is a prime target in the government's plans for bringing in outside contractors.
- Vinyl and aluminum siding are prime candidates to take flight in a high wind.
- We would have thought this was a prime candidate for disclosure.
- All prime examples of been there, done that, but old age means I've forgotten.
- He was a prime example of self-disparagement.
- Indeed, asbestos is a prime example of how marginal exposure to carcinogens does not cause disease.
- Not surprisingly, then, the prime example of this new R & B sensibility was a black university graduate.
- Some of it is merely popular or a prime example of a genre.
- The prime example discussed by Stepp and Michalski involved classifying simple pictures of goods trains.
- The prime example of political control is the government's Action for Community Employment scheme.
- The prime example of that was his chief financial officer, whom he inherited from the previous president.
Smoking is the prime cause of lung disease. Our prime concern is providing jobs for all young school leavers. He was named as the prime suspect in the murder investigation. Good management is of prime importance in business.► see thesaurus at main2of the very best quality or kind: prime rib of beef prime agricultural land The hotel is in a prime location overlooking the valley.3be a prime candidate/target (for something) to be the person or thing that is most suitable or most likely to be chosen for a particular purpose: The school is a prime candidate for closure. Old people are a prime target for thieves.4prime example a very typical example of something: Blakey Hall is a prime example of a 19th-century building.prime1 adjectiveprime2 nounprime3 verb
primeprime2 ●○○ noun [singular] EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- Even Margaret Thatcher in her prime could not carry her party on the question of Sundays.
- He was thirty-six years old, and his youth was gone, and even his prime was passing.
- In his prime, Vermeer developed what can only be called a formula, and a dazzling one.
- Surely you don't allow negative numbers to be primes?
- The bottom strand is numbered in the same way from the 5' end, but with primes on the numbers.
- The extract is bitter but tolerable, and the root has the taste of a radish past its prime.
- Those selected for slaughter are done so at about thirty months, however, when their meat is at its prime.
Longman Language Activatorto die when you are still young
to die when you are young: · Like so many other pop stars, Jim Morrison died young.· a memorial to tens of thousands of allied soldiers, many of whom died so young
to die when you are still young, strong, and active, as a result of an accident, sudden illness etc: · The movie tells the story of a popular athlete cut down in his prime.be cut off/down in your prime by: · Dolly was an energetic woman who was suddenly cut off in her prime by scarlet fever.
someone's death that happens before it would normally be expected: · James Dean had made just three movies before his untimely death in 1955.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY He is now past his prime. a man in the prime of life a young singer who was tragically cut off in her prime (=died while she was in her prime)COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
the time in your life when you are strongest and most activein your prime He is now past his prime. a man in the prime of life a young singer who was tragically cut off in her prime (=died while she was in her prime) (=very typical)· This is a classic example of how not to run a business.· The pot is a perfect example of the Marine Style.· This is a prime example of government incompetence.
(=the main motive)· Concern was her prime motive in visiting Mrs Green.
(=a number such as 13 that can be divided only by itself and 1)· After 7, what is the next prime number?
(=the main one)· The primary objective of training is to improve performance.
(=the lowest rate of interest at which companies can borrow money from a bank)· The amount above the prime rate is determined by the bank’s assessment of the risk involved in making the loan.
· She didn’t realise he was the prime suspect in a murder case.
(=the most suitable or most likely to be chosen)· Sporting events could become a prime target for terrorists.
She’s now 40 and still in her prime. He is now past his prime. a man in the prime of life a young singer who was tragically cut off in her prime (=died while she was in her prime)prime1 adjectiveprime2 nounprime3 verb
primeprime3 verb [transitive] 1prepare somebody to prepare someone for a situation so that they know what to doprime somebody with something Did you prime her with what to say?prime somebody for something He had a shower and primed himself for action.prime somebody to do something He had been primed to say nothing about it.2a gun to prepare a gun or bomb so that it can fire or explode3paint to put a special layer of paint on a surface, in order to prepare it for the next layer: All metal surfaces will have to be primed.4prime the pump informal to encourage a business, industry, or activity to develop by putting money or effort into it5water to pour water into a water pump in order to make it ready to work