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"priority" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often precedence (10 letters).
Definitions
Thing treated as more important than others or needing attention first.
Word origin
From Old French priorite, from Latin priōritās.
Used in a sentence
“He set his e-mail message's priority to high.”
“She needs to get her priorities straight and stop playing games.”
“In bankruptcy law, a business' debt to its employees has priority over its debt to a landlord, so the employees must be paid first.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer2 curated clues
01“first concern”8 letters
02“Most important thing”8 letters
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