Standard Lemma guide

seniority

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /siːnɪˈɒɹɪti/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /sinˈjɔɹɪti/
  • New-York-City, Philadelphia: /sinˈjɑɹɪti/
  • rhymes with -ɒɹɪti
  • CMU ARPABET: S IY0 N Y AO1 R IH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A measure of the amount of time a person has been a member of an organization, as compared to other members, and with an eye towards awarding privileges to those who have been members longer.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • It's an old-fashioned company, with parking spaces and other perks doled out on the basis of seniority.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: anciennity, eldership

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the property of being long-lived

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: longevity

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: oldness

3

noun

Meaning 3

higher rank than that of others especially by reason of longer service

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: senior status, higher status, higher rank

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: high status

History

Etymology

From Middle English senyoryte, from Medieval Latin senioritas, from Latin senior (“elder”).

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: трудов стаж (trudov staž) — time
  • Danish: anciennitet — time
  • Dutch: senioriteit — time
  • Dutch: anciënniteit — time
  • French: ancienneté — time
  • French: séniorité — time
  • German: Anciennität — time
  • German: Seniorität — time
  • Greek: αρχαιότητα (archaiótita) — time
  • Hindi: वरिष्ठता (variṣṭhatā) — time
  • Indonesian: senioritas — time
  • Kyrgyz: улуулук (uluuluk) — time
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ansiennitet — time
  • Russian: стаж (staž) — time
  • Spanish: antigüedad — time
  • Spanish: arraigo laboral — time
  • Spanish: señoría — time
  • Spanish: veteranía — time
  • Spanish: enraizamiento institucional — time
  • Spanish: radicación grupal — time
  • Swedish: anciennitet — time
  • Swedish: tjänsteålder — time
  • Vietnamese: thâm niên — time
  • Yiddish: סטאַזש (stazh) — time
Real reading context

seniority in complete knowledge articles