prime

1 of 3

noun

ˈprīm

often capitalized : the second of the canonical hours

: the first hour of the day usually considered either as 6 a.m. or the hour of sunrise

: the earliest stage

: spring

: youth

: the most active, thriving, or satisfying stage or period

in the prime of his life

: the chief or best individual or part : pick

prime of the flock, and choicest of the stall

Alexander Pope

: prime number

: the first note or tone of a musical scale : tonic

: the interval between two notes on the same staff degree

: the symbol ′ used to distinguish arbitrary characters (such as a and a′), to indicate a specific unit (such as feet or minutes of time or angular measure), or to indicate the derivative of a function (such as p′ or f′(x)) compare double prime

: prime rate

prime

2 of 3

adjective

: first in time : original

: of, relating to, or being a prime number compare relatively prime

: having no polynomial factors other than itself and no monomial factors other than 1

a prime polynomial

: expressed as a product of prime factors (such as prime numbers and prime polynomials)

a prime factorization

: first in rank, authority, or significance : principal

a prime example

: having the highest quality or value

prime farmland

: of the highest grade regularly marketed

—used of meat and especially beef

: not deriving from something else : primary

primely adverb

primeness noun

prime

3 of 3

verb

primed; priming

transitive verb

: fill, load

: to prepare for firing by supplying with priming

: to insert a primer into (a cartridge case)

: to apply the first color, coating, or preparation to

prime a wall

: to put into working order by filling or charging with something

prime a pump with water

: to supply with an essential prerequisite (such as a hormone, nucleic acid, or antigen) for chemical or biological activity

primed female mice with estrogen

: to instruct beforehand : coach

primed the witness

: stimulate

intransitive verb

: to become prime

Example Sentences

Noun young college graduates in the prime of life The interest rate is two percent plus prime. Adjective The wine industry is of prime importance to the California economy. The police have not yet named the prime suspect in the murder investigation. The house is expensive because it's in a prime location. Verb She was obviously primed for the questions at the press conference. Both teams are primed for battle and ready to play. We sanded and primed the woodwork before painting. See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The Browns finished 8-9 and out of the playoffs despite star players such as Garrett, Denzel Ward and Nick Chubb being in the prime of their careers.

cleveland, 8 Sep. 2022 All these musicians were in the prime of their careers, and each individual added something special to the album as a whole.

Okla Jones, Essence, 12 Aug. 2022 At a service posted on the Sol Levinson and Bros. funeral home website Thursday, friends and family described Wolf as a quick learner, an unfailingly generous friend and a loving father struck down in the prime of his life.

Cassidy Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 11 Aug. 2022 Forcing more women in the prime of their lives out of the workforce with unplanned pregnancies is only going to exacerbate the problem.

Lindsay Beyerstein, The New Republic, 2 Aug. 2022 There are players who have no intention of playing 82 games in a season, and some are in the prime of their careers.

Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 July 2022 Many affected are diagnosed in the prime of their lives and at high points of their careers.

Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 15 July 2022 Both are in the prime of their careers, both can create their own shots, hit the open 3, and defend.

Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2022 In one concerning signal, the share of people in the prime of their careers — from 25 to 54 years old — who are either working or looking for work dropped in June to 82.3 percent from 82.6 percent, well below the prepandemic high of 83.1 percent.

Lydia Depillis, New York Times, 8 July 2022

Adjective

Seeing Spencer work out his savior complex through therapy is a prime example of that exploration of what young people go through.

Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 14 Sep. 2022 This is a prime example of what is wrong with the universal vouchers that were pushed in order to help people get out of failing public schools.

Renata Cló, The Arizona Republic, 14 Sep. 2022 Richards cites the Under Armour All-America Game in 2019 in which York made a record-setting 59-yard field goal as the prime example.

Ashley Bastock, cleveland, 13 Sep. 2022 Regardless, the plant is often cited by environmental advocates as a prime example of Maryland’s shortcomings in environmental enforcement.

Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 12 Sep. 2022 Alicent is a prime example of the norm for royal ladies in this version of Westeros.

Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2022 Silja Pieh, head of strategy at luxury car maker Audi AG, said recently, citing glass as a prime example.

William Boston, WSJ, 27 Aug. 2022 Brodie King, Garner said, is a prime example of a team player who contributed to the end of the losing streak.

al, 24 Aug. 2022 But in a year when Democrats were supposed to get drubbed across the country in the midterms, Hassan is a prime example of a surprisingly positive turnaround for her party in Senate races.

Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Aug. 2022

Verb

She was randomized to also receive 11 months of four therapies meant to prime the immune system to better fight the virus, according to Núria Climent, a biologist at the University of Barcelona Hospital Clinic, who presented the findings.

Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 27 July 2022 Here’s the rundown of national stats to prime the pump for Alabama-Tennessee week.

Michael Casagrande | Mcasagrande@al.com, al, 17 Oct. 2021 The goal was to prime their bodies to last as long as possible before giving out.

Nicole Kagan, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2022 But some experts say that targets should show a greater mix of race, gender and age, so as not to reinforce stereotypes or prime the mind to see particular groups as a threat.

New York Times, 31 July 2022 Unger’s note is one of three — three! — introductory sections to this Penguin Classics translation, which is an obvious tell that some context and buildup were needed to prime the reader for this seminal work of the Latin American dictator genre.

Manuel Roig-franzia, Washington Post, 14 July 2022 The Jumbotrons played an anti-plastics (but pro-Samsung) environmental P.S.A. starring BTS and an assortment of the band’s music videos to prime the crowd.

E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 21 June 2022 Previously, much of her laboratory’s work had looked at how the portion of the body’s defenses called the innate immune system detects viruses and how that helps to prime the immune responses in mucous membranes.

Quanta Magazine, 21 June 2022 Southern California is facing a potentially treacherous wildfire season this year, as climate change, drought and extreme heat conspire to bake vegetation and prime the landscape for burning, officials say.

Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, going back to Old English prīm, borrowed from Medieval Latin prīma (short for Latin prīma hōra "first hour"), from feminine of Latin prīmus "first, earliest"; in senses other than sense 1 borrowed in part from Latin prīmum "first part, beginning stages" (in plural prīma) or prīmus "notable person, leading citizen," noun derivatives of prīmus, adjective — more at prime entry 2

Adjective

Middle English, "first, original, in an initial stage," borrowed from Anglo-French, originally feminine of prim "first, earliest, original, main, most important," going back to Latin prīmus "first" (ordinal corresponding to ūnus "one, foremost, earliest, of first importance, of the highest quality,") going back to earlier *prīsmos, syncopated from *prīsomos, from dialectal Indo-European *pri "in front, before" + *-is-m̥mo-, superlative suffix (from *-is-, comparative suffix + *-m̥mo-, superlative suffix) — more at prior entry 2

Note: The combined comparative-superlative suffix *-is-m̥mo- as a productive superlative suffix is peculiar to Italic and Celtic. The assumption that *-is-m̥mo- yields *-isomo- in Latin (rather than *-em- or *-am-) is based on Michael Weiss, Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin (Beech Stave Press, 2011), p. 105. (Weiss suggests as a prime example homō "man, human," from *ǵhm̥mō.)

Verb

of uncertain origin

Note: Possibly a derivative of prime entry 2, if priming something was taken to mean performing an essential preliminary stage. However, if early uses meaning simply "to load, fill" (earliest in Scots, in Gavin Douglas's translation of the Aeneid, 1513) are the original senses, the painting and weapons senses may be by secondary association with prime entry 2 and its etymons. Supporting the hypothesis of an original meaning "load" would be the apparent derivative primage "money paid by a shipper to a captain for care of the cargo," attested as English in 1476, and as Latin primagium as early as 1297. Compare in the same sense prime-gilt (earliest in Scots, 1576), alongside Middle High German primegelt, primgelt (1468) and Middle Dutch priemgelt (1460), with gelt "money." However, none of these words lead any closer to the origin of the English verb.

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1513, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

prime 1 of 3

noun

ˈprīm

: the period in life when a person is best in health, looks, or strength

prime

2 of 3

adjective

: first in importance, rank, or quality

Spring is a prime season to work outdoors.

prime

3 of 3

verb

primed; priming

: to put a first color or coating on

Prime the wall before painting.

: to put into working order by filling

prime a pump

: to make (someone or something) ready

The coach is priming him to be quarterback.

单词	prime
释义	prime 1 of 3 noun ˈprīm 1 a often capitalized : the second of the canonical hours b : the first hour of the day usually considered either as 6 a.m. or the hour of sunrise 2 a : the earliest stage b : spring c : youth 3 : the most active, thriving, or satisfying stage or period in the prime of his life 4 : the chief or best individual or part : pick prime of the flock, and choicest of the stall Alexander Pope 5 : prime number 6 a : the first note or tone of a musical scale : tonic b : the interval between two notes on the same staff degree 7 : the symbol ′ used to distinguish arbitrary characters (such as a and a′), to indicate a specific unit (such as feet or minutes of time or angular measure), or to indicate the derivative of a function (such as p′ or f′(x)) compare double prime 8 : prime rate prime 2 of 3 adjective 1 : first in time : original 2 a : of, relating to, or being a prime number compare relatively prime b : having no polynomial factors other than itself and no monomial factors other than 1 a prime polynomial c : expressed as a product of prime factors (such as prime numbers and prime polynomials) a prime factorization 3 a : first in rank, authority, or significance : principal a prime example b : having the highest quality or value prime farmland c : of the highest grade regularly marketed —used of meat and especially beef 4 : not deriving from something else : primary primely adverb primeness noun prime 3 of 3 verb primed; priming transitive verb 1 : fill, load 2 a : to prepare for firing by supplying with priming b : to insert a primer into (a cartridge case) 3 : to apply the first color, coating, or preparation to prime a wall 4 a : to put into working order by filling or charging with something prime a pump with water b : to supply with an essential prerequisite (such as a hormone, nucleic acid, or antigen) for chemical or biological activity primed female mice with estrogen 5 : to instruct beforehand : coach primed the witness 6 : stimulate intransitive verb : to become prime Phrases prime the pump : to take steps to encourage the growth or functioning of something Synonyms Noun bloom blossom florescence floruit flower flush heyday high noon salad days springtime Adjective chief commanding first foremost head high lead leading preeminent premier presiding primary principal supereminent supreme top See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Noun young college graduates in the prime of life The interest rate is two percent plus prime. Adjective The wine industry is of prime importance to the California economy. The police have not yet named the prime suspect in the murder investigation. The house is expensive because it's in a prime location. Verb She was obviously primed for the questions at the press conference. Both teams are primed for battle and ready to play. We sanded and primed the woodwork before painting. See More Recent Examples on the Web Noun The Browns finished 8-9 and out of the playoffs despite star players such as Garrett, Denzel Ward and Nick Chubb being in the prime of their careers. cleveland, 8 Sep. 2022 All these musicians were in the prime of their careers, and each individual added something special to the album as a whole. Okla Jones, Essence, 12 Aug. 2022 At a service posted on the Sol Levinson and Bros. funeral home website Thursday, friends and family described Wolf as a quick learner, an unfailingly generous friend and a loving father struck down in the prime of his life. Cassidy Jensen, Baltimore Sun, 11 Aug. 2022 Forcing more women in the prime of their lives out of the workforce with unplanned pregnancies is only going to exacerbate the problem. Lindsay Beyerstein, The New Republic, 2 Aug. 2022 There are players who have no intention of playing 82 games in a season, and some are in the prime of their careers. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 July 2022 Many affected are diagnosed in the prime of their lives and at high points of their careers. Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 15 July 2022 Both are in the prime of their careers, both can create their own shots, hit the open 3, and defend. Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 9 July 2022 In one concerning signal, the share of people in the prime of their careers — from 25 to 54 years old — who are either working or looking for work dropped in June to 82.3 percent from 82.6 percent, well below the prepandemic high of 83.1 percent. Lydia Depillis, New York Times, 8 July 2022 Adjective Seeing Spencer work out his savior complex through therapy is a prime example of that exploration of what young people go through. Alamin Yohannes, EW.com, 14 Sep. 2022 This is a prime example of what is wrong with the universal vouchers that were pushed in order to help people get out of failing public schools. Renata Cló, The Arizona Republic, 14 Sep. 2022 Richards cites the Under Armour All-America Game in 2019 in which York made a record-setting 59-yard field goal as the prime example. Ashley Bastock, cleveland, 13 Sep. 2022 Regardless, the plant is often cited by environmental advocates as a prime example of Maryland’s shortcomings in environmental enforcement. Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 12 Sep. 2022 Alicent is a prime example of the norm for royal ladies in this version of Westeros. Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 11 Sep. 2022 Silja Pieh, head of strategy at luxury car maker Audi AG, said recently, citing glass as a prime example. William Boston, WSJ, 27 Aug. 2022 Brodie King, Garner said, is a prime example of a team player who contributed to the end of the losing streak. al, 24 Aug. 2022 But in a year when Democrats were supposed to get drubbed across the country in the midterms, Hassan is a prime example of a surprisingly positive turnaround for her party in Senate races. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Aug. 2022 Verb She was randomized to also receive 11 months of four therapies meant to prime the immune system to better fight the virus, according to Núria Climent, a biologist at the University of Barcelona Hospital Clinic, who presented the findings. Benjamin Ryan, NBC News, 27 July 2022 Here’s the rundown of national stats to prime the pump for Alabama-Tennessee week. Michael Casagrande \| Mcasagrande@al.com, al, 17 Oct. 2021 The goal was to prime their bodies to last as long as possible before giving out. Nicole Kagan, Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2022 But some experts say that targets should show a greater mix of race, gender and age, so as not to reinforce stereotypes or prime the mind to see particular groups as a threat. New York Times, 31 July 2022 Unger’s note is one of three — three! — introductory sections to this Penguin Classics translation, which is an obvious tell that some context and buildup were needed to prime the reader for this seminal work of the Latin American dictator genre. Manuel Roig-franzia, Washington Post, 14 July 2022 The Jumbotrons played an anti-plastics (but pro-Samsung) environmental P.S.A. starring BTS and an assortment of the band’s music videos to prime the crowd. E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 21 June 2022 Previously, much of her laboratory’s work had looked at how the portion of the body’s defenses called the innate immune system detects viruses and how that helps to prime the immune responses in mucous membranes. Quanta Magazine, 21 June 2022 Southern California is facing a potentially treacherous wildfire season this year, as climate change, drought and extreme heat conspire to bake vegetation and prime the landscape for burning, officials say. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2022 See More Word History Etymology Noun Middle English, going back to Old English prīm, borrowed from Medieval Latin prīma (short for Latin prīma hōra "first hour"), from feminine of Latin prīmus "first, earliest"; in senses other than sense 1 borrowed in part from Latin prīmum "first part, beginning stages" (in plural prīma) or prīmus "notable person, leading citizen," noun derivatives of prīmus, adjective — more at prime entry 2 Adjective Middle English, "first, original, in an initial stage," borrowed from Anglo-French, originally feminine of prim "first, earliest, original, main, most important," going back to Latin prīmus "first" (ordinal corresponding to ūnus "one, foremost, earliest, of first importance, of the highest quality,") going back to earlier prīsmos, syncopated from prīsomos, from dialectal Indo-European pri "in front, before" + -is-m̥mo-, superlative suffix (from -is-, comparative suffix + -m̥mo-, superlative suffix) — more at prior entry 2 Note: The combined comparative-superlative suffix -is-m̥mo- as a productive superlative suffix is peculiar to Italic and Celtic. The assumption that -is-m̥mo- yields -isomo- in Latin (rather than -em- or -am-) is based on Michael Weiss, Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin* (Beech Stave Press, 2011), p. 105. (Weiss suggests as a prime example homō "man, human," from ǵhm̥mō.) Verb of uncertain origin Note: Possibly a derivative of prime entry 2, if priming something was taken to mean performing an essential preliminary stage. However, if early uses meaning simply "to load, fill" (earliest in Scots, in Gavin Douglas's translation of the Aeneid,* 1513) are the original senses, the painting and weapons senses may be by secondary association with prime entry 2 and its etymons. Supporting the hypothesis of an original meaning "load" would be the apparent derivative primage "money paid by a shipper to a captain for care of the cargo," attested as English in 1476, and as Latin primagium as early as 1297. Compare in the same sense prime-gilt (earliest in Scots, 1576), alongside Middle High German primegelt, primgelt (1468) and Middle Dutch priemgelt (1460), with gelt "money." However, none of these words lead any closer to the origin of the English verb. First Known Use Noun before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a Adjective 15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Verb 1513, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1 Phrases Containing prime in one's prime prime meridian double prime past one's prime prime minister prime cost prime mover prime rate prime target prime time prime number relatively prime the prime meridian prime the pump See More in one's prime prime meridian double prime past one's prime prime minister prime cost prime mover prime rate prime target prime time prime number relatively prime the prime meridian prime the pump See More Kids Definition prime 1 of 3 noun ˈprīm : the period in life when a person is best in health, looks, or strength prime 2 of 3 adjective : first in importance, rank, or quality Spring is a prime season to work outdoors. prime 3 of 3 verb primed; priming 1 : to put a first color or coating on Prime the wall before painting. 2 : to put into working order by filling prime a pump 3 : to make (someone or something) ready The coach is priming him to be quarterback. Legal Definition prime 1 of 2 noun 1 : prime rate 2 : general contractor prime 2 of 2 transitive verb primed; priming : to have priority over a perfected security interest primes an unperfected one prime 1 of 3 adjective 1 as in chief highest in rank or authority the prime strategist in the senator's presidential campaign Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance chief supreme foremost presiding primary commanding top leading first principal lead senior premier high head main preeminent in charge managing major predominant reigning supereminent paramount dominant upper predominate directing controlling high-level ruling overseeing sovereign topmost supervisory ascendant superior regnant uppermost officiating grand ascendent sovran upmost Antonyms & Near Antonyms second last secondary lower lesser less ancillary subordinate inferior lowly subsidiary junior under assisting assistant deputy coadjutor See More 2 as in excellent of the very best kind owns a thousand acres of prime farmland Synonyms & Similar Words excellent great terrific superb stellar wonderful beautiful lovely awesome fantastic fabulous quality marvelous hot fine classic famous top primo choice heavenly grand divine marvellous superior sensational superlative capital cool good neat slick exceptional splendid frontline sterling prize cracking immense swell dynamite noble too much topping topflight prizewinning peachy corking brave unsurpassed crackerjack par excellence keen gangbusters dandy bumper decent boffo gangbuster bully banner supernal mean fab number one groovy boss dope better nifty first-rate gone hype tip-top radical blue-chip numero uno first-class special brag bang-up adequate down righteous first-string top-shelf bonny wizard top-notch phat top-of-the-line high-class out-of-sight satisfactory peachy keen blue-ribbon acceptable fantabulous gilt-edge out of this world five-star premium gilt-edged jim-dandy all right four-star traditional classical A-OK bonnie select A1 tolerable passable standard fancy No. 1 superfine okay high-grade OK high-test Antonyms & Near Antonyms poor lousy terrible pathetic rotten awful wretched bad inferior execrable atrocious vile unsatisfactory substandard middling mediocre low-grade second-rate second-class See More prime 2 of 3 noun 1 as in bloom a state or time of great activity, thriving, or achievement in the prime of her life Synonyms & Similar Words bloom blooming heyday pinnacle flower springtime revival blossom peak florescence zenith flush autumn flowering high noon apex salad days blossoming golden age meridian floruit summit glory acme climax grandeur silver age efflorescence splendor Indian summer recovery belle epoque belle époque comeback Antonyms & Near Antonyms decline decay downfall nadir bottom wilting withering shriveling shrivelling See More 2 as in best individuals carefully selected as being the best of a class chose the prime of the litter of pups Synonyms & Similar Words best elite top choice aristocracy elect flower quality pick royalty A-list upper crust pink cream of the crop fat cream society priesthood corps d'elite illuminati crème de la crème pride establishment upper class Hall of Fame nobility top drawer gentry caviar caviare who's who Antonyms & Near Antonyms millions masses multitude mob herd unwashed commoners hoi polloi rank and file See More prime 3 of 3 verb as in to ground Synonyms & Similar Words ground mentor fit qualify drill school prepare rear coach direct lesson guide habilitate teach lead educate tutor indoctrinate instruct lecture train inculcate preach brief instill implant enlighten show catechize inform impart (to) moralize edify verse familiarize instil homeschool initiate introduce
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prime

noun

adjective

verb

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Phrases Containing prime

Kids Definition

noun

adjective

verb

Legal Definition

noun

transitive verb

adjective

noun

verb