paramount

An important or highest priority thing is paramount.

The word "paramount" usually means something that's more important than everything else. When you hear someone say that getting to the airport on time is paramount, they mean it's the most important thing at that moment. For example, if there's bad weather and flights are being cancelled, but your grandma is waiting for a surgery and needs you to be there with her, then getting to the hospital safely might be paramount.

In business or politics, "paramount" can also refer to something that has top priority, like "the company's financial stability is paramount right now." It means that whatever else is happening, this one thing takes precedence.