Adjacent Words

Precede definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

PRECE'DE, v.t. [L. proecedo; proe, before, and cedo, to more.]
1. To go before in the order of time. The corruption of morals precedes the ruin of a state.
2. To go before in rank or importance.
3. To cause something to be before; to make to take place in prior time.
It is usual to precede hostilities by a public declaration. [Unusual.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: be earlier in time; go back further; "Stone tools precede bronze tools" [syn: predate, precede, forego, forgo, antecede, antedate] [ant: follow, postdate]
2: come before; "Most English adjectives precede the noun they modify" [syn: precede, predate]
3: be the predecessor of; "Bill preceded John in the long line of Susan's husbands" [syn: precede, come before] [ant: come after, follow, succeed]
4: move ahead (of others) in time or space [syn: precede, lead] [ant: follow]
5: furnish with a preface or introduction; "She always precedes her lectures with a joke"; "He prefaced his lecture with a critical remark about the institution" [syn: precede, preface, premise, introduce]

Merriam Webster's

verb (preceded; preceding) Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French preceder, from Latin praecedere, from prae- pre- + cedere to go Date: 15th century 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

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 a come or go before in time, order, importance, etc. (preceding generations; the preceding paragraph; sons of barons precede baronets). b walk etc. in front of (preceded by our guide). 2 (foll. by by) cause to be preceded (must precede this measure by milder ones). Etymology: OF preceder f. L praecedere (as PRAE-, cedere cess- go)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Precede Pre*cede", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Preceded; p. pr. & vb. n. Preceding.] [L. praecedere, praecessum; prae before + cedere to go, to be in motion: cf. F. pr['e]ceder. See Pre-, and Cede.] 1. To go before in order of time; to occur first with relation to anything. ``Harm precedes not sin.'' --Milton. 2. To go before in place, rank, or importance. 3. To cause to be preceded; to preface; to introduce; -- used with by or with before the instrumental object. [R.] It is usual to precede hostilities by a public declaration. --Kent.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(precedes, preceding, preceded) 1. If one event or period of time precedes another, it happens before it. (FORMAL) Intensive negotiations between the main parties preceded the vote... The earthquake was preceded by a loud roar and lasted 20 seconds... Industrial orders had already fallen in the preceding months. VERB: V n, be V-ed by n, V-ing 2. If you precede someone somewhere, you go in front of them. (FORMAL) He gestured to Alice to precede them from the room... They were preceded by mounted cowboys. VERB: V n, be V-ed by n 3. A sentence, paragraph, or chapter that precedes another one comes just before it. Look at the information that precedes the paragraph in question... Repeat the exercises described in the preceding section. ? follow VERB: V n, V-ing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. Go before (in place or in time), go ahead of, take the lead of, be anterior to, take precedence of, lead, introduce, herald, usher in, head.

Moby Thesaurus

announce, antecede, antedate, anticipate, be before, be early, be the bellwether, beacon, blaze the trail, break ground, break the ice, break the trail, come before, come first, create, forerun, foreshadow, front, get ahead of, get before, go ahead of, go before, go in advance, guide, harbinger, have priority, have the start, head, head the line, head the table, head up, herald, initiate, introduce, invent, kick off, lap, lead, lead off, lead the dance, lead the way, light the way, originate, outrank, outstrip, pace, pioneer, play first fiddle, precurse, predate, preexist, presage, proclaim, rank, rank first, rank out, rate, set the pace, spearhead, stand first, star, take precedence, take the initiative, take the lead, take the plunge, usher, usher in