Priority becomes a difficult issue usually in the context of priority disputes, where the priority for a given theory, understanding, or discovery comes into question.

As a result, an intense priority dispute ensued.

However, Newton omitted acknowledgements to some because of the priority disputes.

He had a priority dispute over this with Jean Descemet (1732-1810).

This naturally led to priority disputes with contemporaries such as Descartes and Wallis.

The status of this account matters for the priority dispute over the experiment in which Franklin became involved.

The invention of the slide rule involved Oughtred in a priority dispute with Delamain.

There are many priority disputes, in which multiple individuals or teams have competing claims over who discovered something first.

When the priority dispute between them erupted in 1711, each wrote anonymous tracts accusing the other of dishonesty.

The priority dispute had an effect of separating English-speaking mathematicians from those in the continental Europe for many years.