To prefer something is to like it better than something else, or to choose it when you have options. It can be about tastes, choices, or priorities.
“Prefer” comes from Latin *praeferre*, “to carry before, to esteem more,” from *prae-* (“before”) + *ferre* (“to carry”). The image is of lifting one thing up in front of another.
Preferences feel personal and mysterious, but they guide many of our daily decisions almost automatically. Marketers, app designers, and recommendation systems all try to learn what you prefer before you’ve consciously decided.
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