precede

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precede

to go before; to preface: precede a statement with a qualification

Not to be confused with:

proceed – progress, emanate, ensue; move or go forward; to carry on: proceed to the exit

pre·cede

(prĭ-sēd′)

v. pre·ced·ed, pre·ced·ing, pre·cedes

v.tr.

1. To come, exist, or occur before in time: A lecture preceded the movie.

2. To be in front of or prior to in order: A precedes B in the alphabet.

3. To go in advance of: A marching band preceded the float.

4. To preface; introduce: preceded her lecture with a funny anecdote.

v.intr.

To be before in time, order, or position.

[Middle English preceden, from Old French preceder, from Latin praecēdere : prae-, pre- + cēdere, to go; see ked- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

precede

(prɪˈsiːd)

1. to go or be before (someone or something) in time, place, rank, etc

2. (tr) to preface or introduce

[C14: via Old French from Latin praecēdere to go before, from prae before + cēdere to move]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pre•cede

(prɪˈsid)

v. -ced•ed, -ced•ing. v.t.

1. to go before, as in place, rank, importance, or time.

2. to introduce by something preliminary; preface.

v.i.

3. to go or come before.

[1325–75; Middle English < Latin praecēdere. See pre-, cede]

pre•ced′a•ble, adj.

proceed

– precede

1. 'proceed'

If you proceed (/prəsiːd/) to do something, you do it after you have finished doing something else.

He proceeded to explain.

She proceeded to hand over the key to my room.

In stories and formal English, if someone proceeds in a particular direction, they go in that direction.

He proceeded downstairs.

...as we were proceeding along Chiswick High Street.

2. 'precede'

To precede (/prɪsiːd/) an event means to happen before it. Precede is a formal word.

The children's dinner was preceded by party games.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

precede

Past participle: preceded
Gerund: preceding

Imperative
precede
precede

Present
I precede
you precede
he/she/it precedes
we precede
you precede
they precede

Preterite
I preceded
you preceded
he/she/it preceded
we preceded
you preceded
they preceded

Present Continuous
I am preceding
you are preceding
he/she/it is preceding
we are preceding
you are preceding
they are preceding

Present Perfect
I have preceded
you have preceded
he/she/it has preceded
we have preceded
you have preceded
they have preceded

Past Continuous
I was preceding
you were preceding
he/she/it was preceding
we were preceding
you were preceding
they were preceding

Past Perfect
I had preceded
you had preceded
he/she/it had preceded
we had preceded
you had preceded
they had preceded

Future
I will precede
you will precede
he/she/it will precede
we will precede
you will precede
they will precede

Future Perfect
I will have preceded
you will have preceded
he/she/it will have preceded
we will have preceded
you will have preceded
they will have preceded

Future Continuous
I will be preceding
you will be preceding
he/she/it will be preceding
we will be preceding
you will be preceding
they will be preceding

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been preceding
you have been preceding
he/she/it has been preceding
we have been preceding
you have been preceding
they have been preceding

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been preceding
you will have been preceding
he/she/it will have been preceding
we will have been preceding
you will have been preceding
they will have been preceding

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been preceding
you had been preceding
he/she/it had been preceding
we had been preceding
you had been preceding
they had been preceding

Conditional
I would precede
you would precede
he/she/it would precede
we would precede
you would precede
they would precede

Past Conditional
I would have preceded
you would have preceded
he/she/it would have preceded
we would have preceded
you would have preceded
they would have preceded

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Verb	1.	precede - be earlier in time; go back further; "Stone tools precede bronze tools" antecede, antedate, forego, predate, forgo
	2.	precede - come before; "Most English adjectives precede the noun they modify" predate lie - be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position
	3.	precede - be the predecessor of; "Bill preceded John in the long line of Susan's husbands" come before come after, succeed, follow - be the successor (of); "Carter followed Ford"; "Will Charles succeed to the throne?"
	4.	precede - move ahead (of others) in time or space lead go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast" head, lead - travel in front of; go in advance of others; "The procession was headed by John" follow - to travel behind, go after, come after; "The ducklings followed their mother around the pond"; "Please follow the guide through the museum"
	5.	precede - furnish with a preface or introduction; "She always precedes her lectures with a joke"; "He prefaced his lecture with a critical remark about the institution" preface, premise, introduce preamble - make a preliminary introduction, usually to a formal document prologise, prologize, prologuize - write or speak a prologue say, state, tell - express in words; "He said that he wanted to marry her"; "tell me what is bothering you"; "state your opinion"; "state your name"

precede

verb

1. go before, introduce, herald, pave the way for, usher in, antedate, antecede, forerun Intensive negotiations preceded the vote.

2. go ahead of, lead, head, go before, take precedence Alice preceded them from the room.

3. preface, introduce, go before, launch, prefix the information that precedes the paragraph in question

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

precede

verb

1. To come, exist, or occur before in time:

antecede, antedate, predate.

2. To begin (something) with preliminary or prefatory material:

introduce, lead, preface, usher in.

Translations

يَسْبِق

předejít

gå forankomme før

vorausgehen

anteceder preceder

précéder prévenir avancer

vera/koma/fara á undan

precedere precorrere precedente precedenza

atsitikti pirma koeiti pirma kopirma einantispirma įvykęsprecedentas

iet pa priekšunotikt iepriekš

gå foran skje forut for

предшествовать

predísť

biti pred komzgoditi se pred čim

önde gitmek

先于...

precede

[prɪˈsiːd] VT (in space, time, rank) → preceder, anteceder
he let me precede him through the door → me dejó pasar por la puerta a mí primero
the concert was preceded by a talk → el concierto vino precedido de una charla
his reputation had preceded him → su reputación jugaba en contra de él
for a month preceding this → durante un mes anterior a esto

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

precede

[prɪˈsiːd]

(= happen before) → précéder
to be preceded by sth → être précédé par qch
The earthquake was preceded by several smaller tremors → Le tremblement de terre a été précédé par plusieurs secousses plus petites.

(= be the predecessor of) → précéder

(= go in front of) → précéder

(= come before) [paragraph, sentence, chapter] → précéder

vi → précéder

precede

vt (in order, time) → vorangehen (+dat); (in importance) → gehen vor (+dat); (in rank) → stehen über (+dat); for the month preceding this → den (ganzen) Monat davor; to precede a lecture with a joke → einem Vortrag einen Witz vorausschicken

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

precede

[prɪˈsiːd] vt (in space, time) → precedere
he preceded me as chairman of the Society → è stato il mio predecessore nella presidenza della Società

precede

(priˈsiːd) verb

to go, happen etc before. She preceded him into the room.

precedence (ˈpresidəns) noun

(the right of) going before in order of importance etc. This matter is urgent and should be given precedence over others at the moment.

ˌprecedent (ˈpresidənt) noun

a past action, especially a legal decision, which may act as a guide or rule in the future.

preˈceding adjective

on the preceding page.

precede

v. preceder, anteceder, anteponer.

References in classic literature ?

On this same theory, it is evident that the fauna of any great period in the earth's history will be intermediate in general character between that which preceded and that which succeeded it.

View in context

Some talked about the Moscow militia which, preceded by the clergy, would go to the Three Hills; others whispered that Augustin had been forbidden to leave, that traitors had been seized, that the peasants were rioting and robbing people on their way from Moscow, and so on.

View in context

How many persons lost their rest on the night which preceded this long-expected day!

View in context

They had recently seen a chosen army from that country, which, reverencing as a mother, they had blindly believed invincible--an army led by a chief who had been selected from a crowd of trained warriors, for his rare military endowments, disgracefully routed by a handful of French and Indians, and only saved from annihilation by the coolness and spirit of a Virginian boy, whose riper fame has since diffused itself, with the steady influence of moral truth, to the uttermost confines of Christendom.* A wide frontier had been laid naked by this unexpected disaster, and more substantial evils were preceded by a thousand fanciful and imaginary dangers.

The scouts departed; strong guards preceded and followed the lumbering vehicles that bore the baggage; and before the gray light of the morning was mellowed by the rays of the sun, the main body of the combatants wheeled into column, and left the encampment with a show of high military bearing, that served to drown the slumbering apprehensions of many a novice, who was now about to make his first essay in arms.

View in context

"My lord," said he, "what is the meaning of all the noise which preceded me?

He resumed that dismal laugh that had so alarmed Parry; and whilst the whole household was screaming, singing, and preparing to install the travelers who had been preceded by their lackeys, he glided out by the principal entrance into the street, where the old man, who had gone to the window, lost sight of him in a moment.

View in context

But we have sufficiently shown, in what has preceded, that all this, if only possible, is assuredly for the best.

And do you remember the word of caution which preceded the discussion of them?

We were saying, if I am not mistaken, that he who wanted to see them in their perfect beauty must take a longer and more circuitous way, at the end of which they would appear; but that we could add on a popular exposition of them on a level with the discussion which had preceded. And you replied that such an exposition would be enough for you, and so the enquiry was continued in what to me seemed to be a very inaccurate manner; whether you were satisfied or not, it is for you to say.

View in context

"Love & Mercy," preceded by Rising Star Award given to Scott Eastwood and Teresa Palmer.