1. plural of prior; heads of religious houses or monasteries ranking below abbots
Usage: religious context
2. previous convictions or criminal records
Usage: legal; informal
3. previous beliefs or assumptions used as starting points in analysis
Usage: statistics; technical

Examples

• The monastery was governed by three priors who reported to the abbot.
• The defendant had several priors for theft and burglary.
• His priors made it difficult for him to find employment.
• The judge considered the suspect’s priors when determining bail.
• The statistical model incorporated strong priors about population behavior.
• Researchers updated their priors based on the new experimental data.