precursor

American  

[pri-kur-ser, pree-kur-] / prɪˈkɜr sər, ˈpri kɜr- /

noun

• precursors
  plural

1. a person or thing that precedes, as in a job, a method, etc.; predecessor.

   Synonyms:

   forerunner

2. a person, animal, or thing that goes before and indicates the approach of someone or something else; harbinger.

   The first robin is a precursor of spring.

   Synonyms:

   herald

3. Chemistry, Biochemistry. a chemical that is transformed into another compound, as in the course of a chemical reaction, and therefore precedes that compound in the synthetic pathway.

   Cholesterol is a precursor of testosterone.

4. Biology. a cell or tissue that gives rise to a variant, specialized, or more mature form.

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precursor British  

/ prɪˈkɜːsə /

noun

1. a person or thing that precedes and shows or announces someone or something to come; harbinger

2. a predecessor or forerunner

3. a chemical substance that gives rise to another more important substance

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• precursors
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of precursor

1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin praecursor forerunner. See pre-, cursor

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Explanation

You've heard the old saying "Pride comes before the fall?" Well, you could just as easily say pride is a precursor to the fall. A precursor is something that happens before something else. You don't have to be a dead languages scholar to guess that this word springs from a Latin source — praecursor, "to run before." A precursor is usually related to what it precedes. It's a catalyst or a harbinger, leading to what follows or providing a clue that it's going to happen. Binging on holiday candy is a precursor to tummy aches and promises to exercise more. Draconian policies in unstable nations are often a precursor to rebellion.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

precursor precursors

The association was created as a counterpart to the European Economic Community, precursor of the European Union which its four member states are close to but have not joined.

From Barron's ● Oct. 18, 2026

The spool suit is the latest in a coordinated effort by California’s municipalities and the state attorney general’s office to throttle the bootleg gun industry by stanching the flow of its precursor components.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026

Jack explained that there have been several precursor competitions in different countries and this competition takes the top tier of those competitions and brings them together "to really showcase the talent" that there is internationally.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

I pointed out that a leveraged mutual fund, UltraNasdaq-100 ProFund, that’s a precursor to the popular leveraged Nasdaq-100 ETF, ProShares’ TQQQ, has been around since 1997.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

My neck was starting to itch, the telltale precursor to an outbreak of hives.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

Directed by Henry Winkler and co-starring Lee Majors as Mountain Dan, it may be one of the earliest precursors to the Hallmark holiday-style movies.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026

“The use of the books at issue to train Claude and its precursors was exceedingly transformative and was a fair use,” Alsup noted in his earlier judgment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

The White House document claimed they had discussed Chinese investment in U.S. industries, purchases of U.S. oil and agricultural products, and ending the flow of fentanyl precursors into the U.S.

From Slate ● May 16, 2026

U.S. officials want China’s help going after the makers of precursors, though Washington has long been frustrated by what officials have viewed as Beijing dragging its feet.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026

From the precursors of food production already practiced by hunter-gatherers, it developed stepwise.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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Related Words

• forerunner
• harbinger

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