predecessor

American  

[pred-uh-ses-er, pred-uh-ses-er, pree-duh-ses-er] / ˈprɛd əˌsɛs ər, ˌprɛd əˈsɛs ər, ˈpri dəˌsɛs ər /

noun

• predecessors
  plural

1. a person who precedes another in an office, position, etc.

2. something succeeded or replaced by something else.

   The new monument in the park is more beautiful than its predecessor.

3. Archaic. an ancestor; forefather.

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predecessor British  

/ ˈpriːdɪˌsɛsə /

noun

1. a person who precedes another, as in an office

2. something that precedes something else

3. an ancestor; forefather

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• predecessors
  plural

Etymology

Origin of predecessor

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English predecessour, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin praedēcessor, from Latin prae- pre- + dēcessor “retiring official” (equivalent to dēcēd(ere) “to withdraw” + -tor -tor; see de-, cede)

Explanation

A predecessor is something that came before the current version. The person you replaced at work is your predecessor, just like Pac Man is the predecessor of modern video games. If you break the word predecessor down to its Latin roots, you get pre, meaning "beforehand," and decessor, which means "retiring officer." So that's how we get to our definition of "someone who has held an office or position before the present holder." But predecessors aren't just found in the business world: these days predecessors include our ancestors, earlier car models, and all kinds of other forerunners.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

predecessor predecessors

New Test captain Joe Root has abolished the midnight curfew imposed on the England team under predecessor Ben Stokes.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

Zolghadr, his immediate predecessor, and Ali Shamkhani, a long-serving secretary of the council who was killed Feb. 28, all earned their stripes in the group.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

South Korea's dovish President Lee Jae Myung has reversed the stance of his hawkish predecessor since taking power in June 2025, offering Pyongyang talks without preconditions.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

The remarks are only the latest to suggest that if confirmed, Blanche might take a more aggressive approach than his predecessor.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026

The next day was as fine as its predecessor: it was devoted by the party to an excursion to some site in the neighbourhood.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Gen Zers are generally not the biggest creatures of the night and studies show they drink much less than their predecessors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Subsequent qualifications have been the legacy of Euro 2016, while future ambitions are proof of a desire to ensure generations to come continue to build on the foundations laid by their predecessors.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

Because we can blame a lot of the difficulty we have with weight loss today on our predecessors of the past – maybe the ultimate case of blame the parents.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

She brings a change in tone compared with her grizzled predecessors, like Leo Gerard, the union’s longest-serving president.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

We may be even less willing to face the issue at first hand than our predecessors because of a secret new hope that maybe it will go away.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

Related Words

• ancestor
• forebear