preference

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)The selection of one thing or person over others (with the main adposition being "for" in relation to the thing or person, but possibly also "of")

   “He has a preference for crisp wines.”

2. (countable, uncountable)The option to so select, and the one selected.

   “Can I keep my preferences when I upgrade to the new version of this application?”

   “Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much.”

3. (countable, uncountable)The state of being preferred over others.
4. (countable, uncountable)A strong liking or personal valuation.
5. (countable, uncountable)A preferential bias; partiality; discrimination.
6. (uncountable)Preferans, a card game, principally played in Eastern Europe.

verb

1. (US)To give preferential treatment to; to give a preference to.