Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ to indicate that something has already happened, or must happen, before another event takes place.
He claimed he had no ~ knowledge of the protest...
The Constitution requires the president to seek the ~ approval of Congress for military action...
ADJ: ADJ n
2.
A ~ claim or duty is more important than other claims or duties and needs to be dealt with first.
The firm I wanted to use had ~ commitments.
ADJ: ADJ n
3.
A ~ is a monk who is in charge of a ~y or a monk who is the second most important person in a monastery.
N-COUNT; N-TITLE
4.
If something happens ~ to a particular time or event, it happens before that time or event. (FORMAL)
Prior to his Japan trip, he went to New York...
PREP-PHRASE