prime

1 of 3

noun

ˈprīm

Synonyms of prime next

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

Phrases

prime the pump

: to take steps to encourage the growth or functioning of something

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

Project things out one more season, and maybe Lillard, at age 35, begins to break down physically with two years and $120 million remaining on his contract while Brown is in his prime and thriving in Portland. —

Afentres, oregonlive, 1 June 2023 Still, this is when the water is warmest and boating season is at its prime; the intense heat doesn’t seem to scare away the crowds. —

Skye Sherman, Travel + Leisure, 15 May 2023 Castilla, Mexico’s bench coach, held that position atop the Mexico baseball hierarchy during the prime of his 16-year major-league career. —

Jorge Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2023 Numerous false starts prompted downtown leaders to lobby for a special agency that would focus on 322 acres of the prime but blighted historic downtown core. —

Roger Showley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Mar. 2023 Presenting the successful side of dyslexia and neurodivergence primes hiring managers to see talent and ambition. —

Nancy Doyle, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2023 Jackson, a two-time Pro Bowl selection still in the prime of his career, will be able to start shopping for a deal Monday and could sign an offer sheet once free agency starts March 15. —

Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 7 Mar. 2023 Boston shortstop Manny Ramírez was in his prime in the mid-2000s, and Durán dreamed of following in his compatriot’s footsteps. —

Abraham Nudelstejer, Dallas News, 26 May 2023 Much nearer to the peak of his prime is Lionel Messi. —

Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 10 May 2023

Adjective

The council said the new development would generate as much as $778 million for the city over the next 30 years, as well as revive a prime stretch of Rodeo Drive. —

Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 30 May 2023 That said, Rare Beauty advises those with dry skin to prime with a hydrating moisturizer before applying the foundation. —

Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 13 June 2023 Another tip from Samuel: Prioritize your prime goal in your prime time workout split. —

Isadora Baum, Men's Health, 12 June 2023 The menu will feature prime brisket, pulled pork, a variety of sausages, smoked chicken wings, specialty sandwiches and homemade sides. —

Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 7 June 2023 Milwaukee had a prime opportunity to at least tie it back up in the bottom of the seventh when Christian Yelich led off with a single for his third hit of the night. —

Todd Rosiak, Journal Sentinel, 6 June 2023 Other companies have followed suit, similarly targeting China’s massive consumer base as a prime opportunity for expansion. —

Diego Lasarte, Quartz, 6 June 2023 However, there are several that are prime options for freezing. —

Justin Miller Communications Specialist Alabama Cooperative Extension System, al, 6 June 2023 Over the past years, India has been polishing its long-ramshackle infrastructure as never before, and its railways, which are at the heart of the world’s fifth-largest economy, have been a prime beneficiary. —

Alex Travelli, New York Times, 4 June 2023

Verb

With semiconductor manufacturers Texas Instruments and GlobiTech building multibillion-dollar facilities in Sherman, the area is primed for growth as one of the region’s next tech hubs. —

Mitchell Parton, Dallas News, 5 June 2023 The Roku Channel Major Contenders Slip, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story The crowd-pleasing Weird already won a Critics Choice Award for best TV movie, and is primed for an Emmy nom in the same category. —

Tyler Coates, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 May 2023 The party pantry has arrived, and it's primed to be the most enviable space in the house. —

Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 May 2023 Maverick has likely primed the pump and should boost interest in seeing Cruise perform more death-defying stunts, affording Dead Reckoning the chance to outgross Fallout. —

Brendan Morrow, The Week, 30 Apr. 2023 Young players primed to make an impact in 2023 Why, after three years of COVID-19 restrictions and a work stoppage, normalcy has never felt so good. —

Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2023 Once the work with the scalpel is complete, Gronich says your skin will be slightly pink and sensitive but primed and ready for the next step, which is typically the application of some kind of soothing agent. —

Danielle Blundell, Women's Health, 28 Mar. 2023 In the first half, South Carolina, the reigning champion, often looks surprisingly vulnerable, perhaps on the verge of its first loss this season, primed to be on the wrong side of a monumental upset in a March that has been filled with them. —

Talya Minsberg, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2023 But how, exactly, the yellow fever mosquito first evolved to bite people, priming it to stow away on ships and thrive in new destinations, is murkier. —

Byjoshua Sokol, science.org, 27 Mar. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prime.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler

The first known use of prime was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Prime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prime. Accessed 20 Jun. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

prime

1 of 3 noun

ˈprīm

: the first part : the earliest stage

: the most vigorous, prosperous, or satisfying stage or period

in the prime of one's life

: the best individual or part

: prime number

: the symbol ′

prime

2 of 3 adjective

: first in time : original

: of, relating to, or being a prime number

: expressed as a product of prime factors

the prime factorization of 12 is 2 · 2 · 3

: first in rank or importance

our prime responsibility

: being highest in quality or value

prime farmland

: of the highest grade of meat

prime beef

prime

3 of 3 verb

primed; priming

: to get ready for firing by putting in priming

prime a rifle

: to put a first color or coating on (an unpainted surface)

: to put into working order by filling

prime a pump

: to make (someone) ready to do something

teams primed to win

Etymology

Noun

Old English prīm "a religious service for the first hour of the day," from Latin prima (hora) "first (hour)," from primus "first" — related to premier, prima donna, primeval, prince