predecessor

American  

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

noun

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.

---

predecessor British  

/ ˈpriːdɪˌsɛsə /

noun

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

2. something that precedes something else

3. an ancestor; forefather

---

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; de-, cede )

Example Sentences

His predecessor Maresca ended his tenure after a breakdown in relations with the ownership and having dropped a league‑high 15 points from winning positions - prompting frequent criticism of his mid-match decisions.

From BBC

OSLO—The director of the Nobel Peace Prize works behind an ornate wooden desk next to a wall adorned with the black-and-white portraits of his seven predecessors.

From The Wall Street Journal

He intends to keep the party inside the executive, for now anyway, and retain his predecessor Nesbitt as health minister.

From BBC

He clearly finds it absurd that there was an eight-year gap between this visit and the last one by one of his predecessors, Theresa May, in 2018.

From BBC

The firm has begun marketing its fifth and latest energy-transition fund, which it expects to be “meaningfully larger” than a $5.5 billion predecessor, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• ancestor
• forebear