prefer
If you prefer one person or thing to another, you like the first one better.
I prefer art to sports.
She preferred cooking at home to eating in restaurants.
Be careful
Don't use any preposition except to in sentences like these. Don't say, for example ‘I prefer art than sports’.
Don't use any preposition except to in sentences like these. Don't say, for example ‘I prefer art than sports’.
Prefer is rather formal. In ordinary conversation, you often use expressions such as like...better and would ratherÉ instead. For example, instead of saying ‘I prefer football to tennis’, you can say ‘I like football better than tennis’. Instead of saying ‘I’d prefer an apple', you can say ‘I’d rather have an apple'.