1. A status established in order of importance or urgency: There is a particular precedence established among the professors at the university.
2. A relative importance in rank and status that determines something, such as the order in which participants are placed in a formal situation: When the actor uttered the words, "stand not upon the order of your leaving", the reference was to the precedence among those attending.
3. The right or need to be dealt with before someone or something else, or to be treated as more important than somebody or something else: The bossy customer in the store acted as if she deserved precedence over everyone else in the store.
4. The fact of being more important than others: This concept of precedence has always created a struggle for Carol who tries to be egalitarian in all her dealings with others.