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Business English vocabulary · Deadlines and Scheduling

Prioritize

Meaning in business english, with examples

/praɪˈɔːrətaɪz/verbCore term

In business english, prioritize means: To decide which tasks are most important and deal with them first, or to treat one thing as more important than others.

In Turkish: öncelik vermek, önceliklendirmek, öncelik sırasına koymak

How it is used

Used when time or people are limited: 'We need to prioritize', 'Which should I prioritize?' The noun is 'priority': 'top priority', 'high/low priority'. British English also writes 'prioritise'.

Example sentences

  1. With two people off sick, we'll have to prioritize the most urgent orders.

  2. I can't do both this week. Which one should I prioritize?

Common collocations

  • prioritize tasks
  • prioritize the work
  • top priority
  • help me prioritize
  • deadlineThe latest date or time by which a piece of work must be finished, sent or delivered.
  • bandwidthIn office talk, the time, energy or capacity that a person or team has available to take on more work.
  • workloadThe amount of work that a person or a team has to do in a given period of time.
  • ASAPShort for as soon as possible: used when something should be done or sent without any delay.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Deadlines and Scheduling

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