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noun Parliamentary Procedure.

a move that a vote be taken at once on a main question, used especially as a means of cutting off further debate.

Origin of previous question

First recorded in 1690–1700

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for previous question

noun

(in the House of Commons) a motion to drop the present topic under debate, put in order to prevent a vote
(in the House of Lords and US legislative bodies) a motion to vote on a bill or other question without delay