- present participle of precede.
preceding
Americanadjective
adjective
Usage
What does preceding mean? Preceding means coming before. A close synonym is previous. As an adjective, preceding is always used before a noun, as in the preceding chapter. Preceding can also be used as the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb precede, which means to come before. In most cases, the opposite of preceding is following, meaning coming after. For example, if you’re reading Chapter 7, the preceding chapter is Chapter 6, and the following chapter is Chapter 8. Example: The seventh book in the series features many of the same characters as the six preceding novels.
Etymology
Origin of preceding
Explanation
Something is preceding if it comes directly before. The preceding sentence is not so much a definition of the word preceding as a description of it. To cede is to give way, so when you use preceding to describe, say, a person, you’re essentially describing him as the one that just gave way. Previous is a good synonyms. If you are in 11th grade now, you were in 10th grade in the preceding year. And a persistent person will keep asking for something even if "no" has been the answer the 10 preceding times he or she has asked.
Vocabulary lists containing preceding
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie
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Novel Study: The Scarlet Letter, Chapters 16–24
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Little Rock Girl 1957
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources climate scientist Daniel Swain also placed blame on a months-long marine heatwave preceding El Niño, as well as human-caused climate change.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
A 1990 Denver Business Journal profile noted she had killed a rhinoceros, a lion and a leopard in the preceding year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
All three preceding quarter-finals on Arthur Ashe Stadium - Aryna Sabalenka beating Linda Noskova and Jessica Pegula overcoming Emma Navarro, with Tiafoe's win sandwiched in the middle - went the full distance.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
It will help us explain why in the Ramesside period, officials such as Paser chose to reuse, modify or build tombs adjacent to the monuments of the preceding 18th-dynasty elites.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
After several successful 5-minute sessions, he can come in for the activity preceding the final activity, and so on, until he’s in music class for the full period.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
