- 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.
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
As growth slowed, its fruits were shared less equally than in the preceding half-century.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Over the preceding five years, he has established himself as one of the sport's biggest draws.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
