predecease

American  

[pree-di-sees] / ˌpri dɪˈsis /

verb (used with object)

predeceased, predeceasing

1. to die before (another person, the occurrence of an event, etc.).

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predecease British  

/ ˌpriːdɪˈsiːs /

verb

1. to die before (some other person)

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noun

1. rare earlier death

Etymology

Origin of predecease

First recorded in 1585–95; pre- + decease

Explanation

To predecease someone is to die before they do. If, tragically, your goldfish dies one week and your gerbil passes away the following week, you can say the fish predeceases the gerbil. While you can use this verb to talk about any person or animal's death — or even the death of your favorite houseplants — it's most common to describe one family member predeceasing another. It's devastating when a child predeceases his or her parents, or when one twin predeceases the other. This sixteenth century word uses the "before" prefix pre- and decease, from the Latin decessus, or "death."

Example Sentences

If you predecease your wife or if she predeceases you, you/she will receive a step-up in basis on some/all of your investments, meaning that their appreciation will be calculated on the date of death.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 16, 2025

After age 65, I am due $1,500 every month until I die, and if I predecease my husband, he will get the same until he dies.

From Slate • Oct. 18, 2022

She was also at one time a beneficiary of the Cook Islands trust, albeit only in the unlikely event that Oesterlund and both of their two daughters happened to predecease her.

From New York Times • Nov. 30, 2016

Biden told the Colliers that no child should predecease their parents, and that better times are ahead.

From Salon • Apr. 24, 2013

It was, however, the Divine Fiat that the intended successor should predecease him who bestowed the nomination….

From The Travels of Marco Polo — Volume 1 by Yule, Henry