prime
adjective
uk/praɪm/ usmain or most important:
This is a prime example of good salesmanship.
Reckless lending was the prime cause of the crisis.
With a market value now of only £2.1bn, it remains a prime takeover target.
of the best quality:
The hotel is in a prime location in the city centre.
The land is considered prime real estate that could eventually be used for homes.
Prime-1/Prime-2/Prime-3
FINANCE
a rating (= measurement of how good something is) given to a loan to show how much of a risk there is that the loan will not be paid back. A Prime-1 rating means that the risk is very low. A Prime-2 or Prime-3 rating means that the risk is higher:
Issuers rated Prime-1 have a superior ability for repayment of senior short-term debt obligations.
prime
noun [ S ]
uk/praɪm/ usthe period in your life or your job when you are most active or successful:
in his/her/their prime He retired while he was still in his prime.
past my/your prime I plan to work way past my prime.
FINANCE, BANKING, ECONOMICS US
the lowest rate of interest that banks charge their best customers for loans over a short period and that is used for calculating the interest rates on other types of loan:
above/below prime The loan was issued at a variable interest rate of 1.5% above prime.
See also
base rate
prime
verb [ T, usually passive ]
uk/praɪm/ usto prepare someone or something for a particular situation:
I was well primed for the meeting and gave a very successful presentation.
The company is primed to move ahead with its public offering.
prime the pump
to provide money, encouragement, ideas, etc. to help something get started:
Venture capital needs to be raised to prime the pump of startups, which are long on ideas but short on cash.