precede

verb

pre·​cede pri-ˈsēd How to pronounce precede (audio)
preceded; preceding

transitive verb

1
: to surpass in rank, dignity, or importance
2
: to be, go, or come ahead or in front of
3
: to be earlier than
4
: to cause to be preceded : preface

intransitive verb

: to go or come before

Examples of precede in a Sentence

Minutes before 10:30 p.m. in China, the stadium pulsed with the emotions that always precede a 100-meter final. Tim Layden, Sports Illustrated, 25 Aug. 2008
But research has now shown that so-called responses to rhythm actually precede the external beat. We anticipate the beat … Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia, 2007
The print media ape the manners of television, and on television form precedes content, emotion replaces thought, legend substitutes for history, fiction dictates to fact. Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, September 1998
Riots preceded the civil war. She preceded him into the room. The country became more conservative in the years that preceded his election. The new mayor is very different from the person who preceded her in office. The meeting was preceded by a brief welcoming speech. The chairman preceded the meeting with a brief welcoming speech.
Recent Examples on the Web The confrontation that preceded the shooting involved the 36-year-old man who wound up being shot and the 32-year-old, whom the older man was harassing as the northbound A train pulled into Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Downtown Brooklyn around 4:45 p.m., the police said. Hurubie Meko, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Original author James Clavell based Toranaga on the real-life shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, who lived during the late 16th and early 17th centuries and who was responsible for reviving the Gagaku music traditions that largely disappeared during the civil wars that preceded his rise to power. Jon Burlingame, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 Police have not yet specified the nature of the verbal altercation that preceded the shooting. Harry Harris, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 See their sweetest photos together Outside of being one of the NBA's best players — with four championship rings and a three-point shooting reputation that precedes him — Stephen Curry is also known for being a family man. Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 14 Mar. 2024 That is also what happened to 1939 pre-Nazi Germany, which preceded the rise to power of a certain politician and dictator. Zain Jaffer, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2024 The First Quartet precedes Schoenberg’s break from tonality; the Third is from his twelve-tone period. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 At this time, The Weather Bureau, which preceded the National Weather Service, was just 10 years old. Ashlyn Messier, Fox News, 7 Mar. 2024 Police and the Army were both warned that shooter, Card, was suffering from deteriorating mental health in the months that preceded the shootings. CBS News, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'precede.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French preceder, from Latin praecedere, from prae- pre- + cedere to go

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of precede was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near precede

Cite this Entry

“Precede.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precede. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

precede

verb
pre·​cede pri-ˈsēd How to pronounce precede (audio)
preceded; preceding
: to be, go, or come before (as in rank, position, or time)

More from Merriam-Webster on precede

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