preference Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a strong liking
    predilection; taste; penchant.
    • my own preference is for good literature
    • the Irish have a penchant for blarney
  2. noun a predisposition in favor of something
    predilection; orientation.
    • a predilection for expensive cars
    • his sexual preferences
    • showed a Marxist orientation
  3. noun the right or chance to choose
    druthers.
    • given my druthers, I'd eat cake
  4. noun grant of favor or advantage to one over another (especially to a country or countries in matters of international trade, such as levying duties)

WordNet

Pref"er*ence noun
Etymology
Cf. F. préférence.
Definitions
  1. The act of Preferring, or the state of being preferred; the setting of one thing before another; precedence; higher estimation; predilection; choice; also, the power or opportunity of choosing; as, to give him his preference.
    Leave the critics on either side to contend about the preference due to this or that sort of poetry. Dryden.
    Knowledge of things alone gives a value to our reasonings, and preference of one man's knowledge over another's. Locke.
  2. That which is preferred; the object of choice or superior favor; as, which is your preference?

Webster 1913