precede

American  

[pri-seed] / prɪˈsid /

verb (used with object)

• precedes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• preceded,
  past participle,  past
• preceding
  present participle

1. to go before, as in place, order, rank, importance, or time.

2. to introduce by something preliminary; preface.

   to precede one's statement with a qualification.

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verb (used without object)

• precedes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• preceded,
  past participle,  past
• preceding
  present participle

1. to go or come before.

noun

1. Journalism. copy printed at the beginning of a news story presenting late bulletins, editorial notes, or prefatory remarks.

precede British  

/ prɪˈsiːd /

verb

1. to go or be before (someone or something) in time, place, rank, etc

2. (tr) to preface or introduce

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• precedable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• preceding
  present
• preceded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• precede
  simple
• precedes
  simple
• have preceded
  perfect
• has preceded
  perfect
• am preceding
  progressive
• are preceding
  progressive
• is preceding
  progressive
• have been preceding
  perfect progressive
• has been preceding
  perfect progressive

Past

• preceded
  simple
• had preceded
  perfect
• was preceding
  progressive
• were preceding
  progressive
• had been preceding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will precede
  simple
• will have preceded
  perfect
• will be preceding
  progressive
• will have been preceding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of precede

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English preceden, from Latin praecēdere; see pre-, cede

Explanation

To precede is to come before. A short speech will precede the dinner. As you walk down the garden path, the bed of roses precedes the holly bush. When marching into the room, the younger kids precede the older ones. Precede is one of many verbs ending in "-ceed" or "-cede" that trace their roots back to the Latin word cedere which means "to go." For precede, know that it's pre "first" + cedere "go." When you precede, you go first. You might precede your best friend in line, lunch might precede math class, a joke might precede a lecture, and radio preceded television. Anything that goes first or comes before precedes.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

precede precedes preceded preceding

For investors, the comparison may help shed some light on whether the turmoil in AI stocks signals the end of the boom or a temporary disruption that could precede another surge.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

"Preserving or stabilizing the MPS might offer a way to slow the early, hidden cellular changes that precede Alzheimer's symptoms."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

A six-fight undercard, including a heavyweight interim title bout between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane, will precede the main event.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

There are brief Mexican accents, such as the mariachi-style trumpets that precede the market scene.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

“How about that? The great debunker himself” Chronicler relaxed slightly, obviously pleased to have his reputation precede him.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

The ADP report precedes additional jobs data from the Labor Department Friday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Investors should care about this because active M&A volume frequently precedes major bear markets.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

History suggests that a spike in equity issuance often precedes a market top, according to Capital Economics markets economist Joe Maher.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

“Badlands,” where Springsteen exhorts, “talk about a dream, try to make it real,” comes after “Tom Joad” as a counterbalance to the tale of hope and despair that precedes it.

From Salon ● May 28, 2026

The room was dark but there was a grayness in the window like that which precedes the dawn.

From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck

No damning life event preceded my change in style, though I’d recently stopped dating and found some strange joy in perceiving bangs as another barrier-to-entry to anyone who tried.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

"But if the Universe did experience a bounce, the dark structures shaping galaxies today could be remnants from a cosmic epoch that preceded the Big Bang."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

Several eyewitnesses were quoted by Russian media as saying gunfire preceded the explosion, indicating that air defences may have tried to shoot the drone down.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

It’s hard to tell which part of Kerr’s campaign was more grueling: the nearly four minutes of lung-burning effort, or the months of monastic living that preceded it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

And the sudden, strange darkness that had preceded their arrival?

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs

In the 10 months preceding the war, Iran's trade with the UAE totalled $21 billion according to official Iranian figures.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

In other words, the new fossil helps us understand a phase preceding the rise of dinosaurs and crocodiles, when their close relatives were still experimenting with different body shapes, postures, and modes of locomotion.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026

Al-Louh has become well-versed in the pattern preceding the Yellow Line’s advance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

The group’s key fashion and leather goods division recorded quarterly sales of 8.9 billion euros, up 1% on year, also improving from the 2% decline it logged in the preceding quarter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026

But it seems possible that in the years preceding the outbreak of Marburg virus in Germany, a hidden outbreak of the virus occurred on the slopes of Mount Elgon.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

Related Words

• anticipate
• foreshadow
• predate
• presage