prefer

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pre·fer

(prĭ-fûr′)

tr.v. pre·ferred, pre·fer·ring, pre·fers

1. To choose or be in the habit of choosing as more desirable or as having more value: prefers coffee to tea.

2. Law

a. To give priority or precedence to (a creditor).

b. To present (a charge) against a defendant before a court: prefer an indictment.

c. To present (a case) to a court as ready for consideration: prefer the case for trial.

3. Archaic To recommend for advancement or appointment; promote.

[Middle English preferren, from Old French preferer, from Latin praeferre : prae-, pre- + ferre, to carry; see bher- in Indo-European roots.]

pre·fer′rer n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

prefer

(prɪˈfɜː)

vb, -fers, -ferring or -ferred

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to like better or value more highly: I prefer to stand.

2. (Law) law to give preference, esp to one creditor over others

3. (Law) (esp of the police) to put (charges) before a court, judge, magistrate, etc, for consideration and judgment

4. (tr; often passive) to advance in rank over another or others; promote

[C14: from Latin praeferre to carry in front, prefer, from prae in front + ferre to bear]

preˈferrer n

Usage: Normally, to is used after prefer and preferable, not than: I prefer Brahms to Tchaikovsky; a small income is preferable to no income at all. However, than or rather than should be used to link infinitives: I prefer to walk than/rather than to catch the train

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pre•fer

(prɪˈfɜr)

v.t. -ferred, -fer•ring.

1. to set or hold before or above other persons or things in estimation; like better: I prefer school to work.

2. to give priority to, as to one creditor over another.

3. to put forward or present for consideration or sanction.

4. to put forward or advance, as in rank or office; promote.

Idioms:

prefer charges, to make or place an accusation of misconduct, wrongdoing, etc., against another.

[1350–1400; Middle English preferren < Latin praeferre to bear before, set before, prefer =prae- pre- + ferre to bear¹]

prefer

If you prefer one person or thing to another, you like the first one better.

I prefer art to sports.

She preferred cooking at home to eating in restaurants.

Be Careful!
Don't use any preposition except to in sentences like these. Don't say, for example 'I prefer art than sports'.

Prefer is rather formal. In ordinary conversation, you often use expressions such as like...better and would ratherÉ instead. For example, instead of saying 'I prefer football to tennis', you can say 'I like football better than tennis'. Instead of saying 'I'd prefer an apple', you can say 'I'd rather have an apple'.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

prefer

Past participle: preferred
Gerund: preferring

Imperative
prefer
prefer

Present
I prefer
you prefer
he/she/it prefers
we prefer
you prefer
they prefer

Preterite
I preferred
you preferred
he/she/it preferred
we preferred
you preferred
they preferred

Present Continuous
I am preferring
you are preferring
he/she/it is preferring
we are preferring
you are preferring
they are preferring

Present Perfect
I have preferred
you have preferred
he/she/it has preferred
we have preferred
you have preferred
they have preferred

Past Continuous
I was preferring
you were preferring
he/she/it was preferring
we were preferring
you were preferring
they were preferring

Past Perfect
I had preferred
you had preferred
he/she/it had preferred
we had preferred
you had preferred
they had preferred

Future
I will prefer
you will prefer
he/she/it will prefer
we will prefer
you will prefer
they will prefer

Future Perfect
I will have preferred
you will have preferred
he/she/it will have preferred
we will have preferred
you will have preferred
they will have preferred

Future Continuous
I will be preferring
you will be preferring
he/she/it will be preferring
we will be preferring
you will be preferring
they will be preferring

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been preferring
you have been preferring
he/she/it has been preferring
we have been preferring
you have been preferring
they have been preferring

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been preferring
you will have been preferring
he/she/it will have been preferring
we will have been preferring
you will have been preferring
they will have been preferring

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been preferring
you had been preferring
he/she/it had been preferring
we had been preferring
you had been preferring
they had been preferring

Conditional
I would prefer
you would prefer
he/she/it would prefer
we would prefer
you would prefer
they would prefer

Past Conditional
I would have preferred
you would have preferred
he/she/it would have preferred
we would have preferred
you would have preferred
they would have preferred

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	prefer - like better; value more highly; "Some people prefer camping to staying in hotels"; "We prefer sleeping outside" like - find enjoyable or agreeable; "I like jogging"; "She likes to read Russian novels"
	2.	prefer - select as an alternative over another; "I always choose the fish over the meat courses in this restaurant"; "She opted for the job on the East coast" opt, choose cop out, opt out - choose not to do something, as out of fear of failing; "She copped out when she was supposed to get into the hang glider"
	3.	prefer - promote over another; "he favors his second daughter" favor, favour elevate, kick upstairs, promote, upgrade, advance, raise - give a promotion to or assign to a higher position; "John was kicked upstairs when a replacement was hired"; "Women tend not to advance in the major law firms"; "I got promoted after many years of hard work" advantage - give an advantage to; "This system advantages the rich"
	4.	prefer - give preference to one creditor over another law, jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" pay - give money, usually in exchange for goods or services; "I paid four dollars for this sandwich"; "Pay the waitress, please"

prefer

verb

1. like better, favour, go for, pick, select, adopt, fancy, opt for, single out, plump for, incline towards, be partial to Do you prefer a particular sort of music?

2. choose, elect, opt for, pick, wish, desire, would rather, would sooner, incline towards I prefer to go on self-catering holidays.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

prefer

verb

To show partiality toward (someone):

favor.

Idiom: play favorites.

Translations

يُفَضِّلُيُفَضِّل

dát přednostpreferovat

foretrække

bevorzugen vorziehen präferieren

προτιμώ

preferir

pitää parempana

préférer aimer mieux

preferirati

előnyben részesítjobban szeretszeret: jobban szeretszívesebben tesz

vilja heldur

preferire

･･･の方を好む

선호하다

labiau norėti/mėgtilabiau pageidautinas

dot priekšroku

dať prednosť

raje imeti

föredra

ชอบมากกว่า

tercih etmek

thích hơn

更喜欢宁愿

prefer

[prɪˈfɜːʳ]

A. VT

1. (= like better) → preferir (to a) she prefers coffee to tea → prefiere el café al té
which do you prefer? → ¿cuál prefieres?, ¿cuál te gusta más?
I preferred it the way it was → lo prefería tal como estaba
"qualifications preferred but not essential" → "ser titulado es una ventaja pero no un requisito"
to prefer doing sth → preferir hacer algo
I prefer walking to going by car → prefiero ir andando or (LAm) caminando a ir en coche
I'd prefer it if you didn't come with me → preferiría que no vinieras conmigo
I much prefer Scotland → Escocia me gusta mucho más
to prefer that → preferir que + subjun
we'd prefer that this visit be kept confidential → preferimos que esta visita se mantenga en secreto
to prefer to do sth → preferir hacer algo
"will you do it?" - "I'd prefer not to" → -¿lo harás? -preferiría no hacerlo
he may prefer to discuss it with friends rather than with his family → puede que prefiera hablarlo con amigos a hacerlo con su familia
to prefer sb to do sth → preferir que algn haga algo
would you prefer me to drive? → ¿preferirías que condujera yo?

2. (Jur)
to prefer charges (against sb) → presentar cargos (contra algn)
our client may decide to prefer charges of assault → puede que nuestro cliente decida presentar cargos por agresión

3. (esp Rel) (= promote) → ascender; (= appoint) → nombrar
he was preferred to the see of Toledo → lo nombraron arzobispo de Toledo

B. VI → preferir
as you prefer → como usted quiera → como usted prefiera
if you prefer, we could leave it till tomorrow → si usted quiere or lo prefiere, lo podemos dejar para mañana

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

prefer

[prɪˈfɜː^r] vt

(= like better) → préférer
Does he prefer a particular sort of music? → Est-ce qu'il préfère une musique en particulier?
Which would you prefer? → Lequel préfères-tu?
Would you prefer tea or coffee? → Vous préférez du thé ou du café?
to prefer sth to sth → préférer qch à qch
I prefer coffee to tea → Je préfère le café au thé.
I prefer French to chemistry → Je préfère le français à la chimie.
I prefer painting to drawing → Je préfère la peinture au dessin.
to prefer doing sth → préférer faire qch
He says he prefers going to the theatre alone → Il dit qu'il préfère aller au théâtre tout seul.
Bob prefers painting original pieces to making reproductions → Bob préfère peindre des œuvres originales plutôt que faire des reproductions.
to prefer to do sth → préférer faire qch
I prefer to eat out with friends → Je préfère sortir manger avec des amis.
I'd prefer to go by train → Je préférerais y aller en train.
to prefer sb to do sth
I'd prefer him to go to university → Je préférerais qu'il aille à l'université.

(LAW) to prefer charges → procéder à une inculpation

prefer

(= like better) → vorziehen (to dat), lieber mögen (to als); applicant, solution → vorziehen, bevorzugen; (= be more fond of) person → lieber haben (to als); he prefers coffee to tea → er trinkt lieber Kaffee als Tee; he prefers blondes/hot countries → er bevorzugt Blondinen/warme Länder; I prefer it that way → es ist mir lieber so; which (of them) do you prefer? (of people) → wen ziehen Sie vor?; (emotionally) → wen mögen or haben Sie lieber?; (of things) → welche(n, s) ziehen Sie vor or finden Sie besser?; (= find more pleasing) → welche(r, s) gefällt Ihnen besser?; I’d prefer something less ornate → ich hätte lieber etwas Schlichteres; to prefer to do something → etw lieber tun, es vorziehen, etw zu tun; I prefer to resign rather than … → eher kündige ich, als dass …; I prefer walking (to cycling) → ich gehe lieber zu Fuß(, als mit dem Fahrrad zu fahren); I prefer flying → ich fliege lieber; I prefer not to say → ich sage es lieber nicht; would you prefer me to drive? → soll ich lieber fahren?; I would prefer you to do it today or that you did it today → mir wäre es lieber, wenn Sie es heute täten

(Jur) to prefer charges (against somebody) → (gegen jdn) klagen, Klage (gegen jdn) einreichen or erheben

(esp Eccl: = promote) → befördern; the bishop was preferred to the archbishopric of York → dem Bischof wurde die Würde eines Erzbischofs von York verliehen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

prefer

[prɪˈfɜːʳ] vt

a. → preferire
to prefer coffee to tea → preferire il caffè al tè
I prefer walking to going by car → preferisco camminare piuttosto che andare in macchina
I prefer to stay home → preferisco restare a casa

b. (Law) (charges, complaint) → sporgere (000) (action) → intentare

prefer

(priˈfəː) – past tense, past participle preˈferred – verb

to like better. Which do you prefer – tea or coffee?; I prefer reading to watching television; She would prefer to come with you rather than stay here.

ˈpreferable (ˈpre-) adjective

more desirable. Is it preferable to write or make a telephone call?

ˈpreferably adverb

ˈpreference (ˈpre-) noun

(a) choice of, or (a) liking for, one thing rather than another. He likes most music but he has a preference for classical music.

I prefer apples to (not than) oranges.
preferable, adjective, is spelt with -r-.
preference, noun, is spelt with -r-.
preferred and preferring are spelt with -rr-.

prefer

→ يُفَضِّلُ preferovat foretrække bevorzugen προτιμώ preferir pitää parempana préférer preferirati preferire ･･･の方を好む 선호하다 verkiezen foretrekke woleć preferir предпочитать föredra ชอบมากกว่า tercih etmek thích hơn 更喜欢

prefer

v. preferir, seleccionar.

References in classic literature ?

And which method do I understand you to prefer? I said.

View in context

"But, like all true Englishmen, you prefer England?"

View in context

I should certainly, after all, prefer to call him - what did you say his other name was?"

View in context

Morland was a very good woman, and wished to see her children everything they ought to be; but her time was so much occupied in lying-in and teaching the little ones, that her elder daughters were inevitably left to shift for themselves; and it was not very wonderful that Catherine, who had by nature nothing heroic about her, should prefer cricket, baseball, riding on horseback, and running about the country at the age of fourteen, to books -- or at least books of information -- for, provided that nothing like useful knowledge could be gained from them, provided they were all story and no reflection, she had never any objection to books at all.