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

Kroenke has not done the usual due diligence that would precede a sale — meeting with team management and touring the stadium — and has not introduced himself to officials from the city of Anaheim.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

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

He has called past waves of IPOs and other stock issuance the “third horseman of the bubble apocalypse” because they tend to precede major market corrections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026

Carlson stepped back to let Slim precede him, and then the two of them went out the door.

From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

World number one Henry Patten will team up with new US Open champion Neal Skupski for Sunday's doubles, which precedes two reverse singles.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Researchers do not yet know whether deterioration of superficial white matter begins before gray matter loss, develops alongside it, or precedes measurable cognitive decline.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Mark Ruffalo, Florence Pugh, and Sadie Sink also join in the film, which precedes the release of "Avengers: Doomsday" in December.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

"So," she said, "you are Victoria Forester. Your fame precedes you."

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

Ahead of Sheeran’s first concert since the scrutiny surrounding Macklemore’s performance, read on for what preceded the fallout of Sheeran’s Loop tour.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Tegmark, whose appeal to the pope preceded Leo XIV’s warning that AI risked enshrining an “anti-human vision,” said he has been texting with AI company leaders over the past week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

Local landslides are particularly challenging because their effects can develop quickly and may not be preceded by a felt earthquake.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Importantly, that’s above the level that preceded Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s surprise market intervention in mid-August.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

Exception 1.—When the final e is preceded by a vowel, it is sometimes omitted; as, due + ly = duly; true + ly = truly; whole + ly = wholly.

From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton

Kerstetter further testified that Walters’ phone had pinged in Comanche only one other time during the preceding 11 months, about two weeks before the break-in.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

The preceding 10 years looks less impressive at first glance with a headline annualized gain of just 13.8%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

But one which Gauff felt was unavoidable after hitting a high amount of double faults at the preceding Cincinnati Open.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

His lawyer, Bradley Hertz, attempted to argue that legislators, when crafting laws protecting ballots, meant different rules to apply to investigations of elections preceding formal prosecutions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

Finally, Madoc enters the room, his shadow preceding him, spreading across the floor like a carpet.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

Related Words

• anticipate
• foreshadow
• predate
• presage