Meaning of preference In English

• 0 the fact that you like something or someone more than another thing or person:

  • Her preference is for comfortable rather than stylish clothes.

  • I have a preference for sweet food over spicy.

  • Choosing furniture is largely a matter of personal preference.

  • It would be wrong to discriminate against a candidate because of their sexual preference (= the sex of the people they are sexually attracted to).

  • We give preference to those who have worked with us for a long time.

  • Special preferences were offered initially to encourage investment.

  • He studied chemistry in preference to physics at university.

• 1 A preference is also an advantage given to someone:

  • [ U ] The city gives preference to job applicants who live there.

• 2 the fact of liking or wanting one thing more than another:

  • preference for sth These investors had a preference for securities rather than bank deposits.

  • More flexibility will enable managers to redesign their floors quickly according to customer preferences.

  • Buying a car is a matter of personal preference.

• 3 an advantage or better treatment that is given to a person or a group of people:

  • give preference to sb/sth This small-business program gives preference to minority- and women-owned companies.

• 4 used to describe a company's shares that have the right to fixed dividends (= payments from profits) before the dividends on its ordinary shares are calculated and paid in a particular period, or in periods when dividends on these shares are not paid at all:

  • Nokia is to increase its capital with about $100 million of new preference stock.