Precede vs proceed
Precede means to come or go before something else. Proceed means to go forward or go ahead, often to the next step.
Precede has pre, as in preview, for before. Proceed has pro, as in progress, for forward.
precede verb
To come or go before something else in time, order, or place.
- In the alphabet, the letter A precedes B.
- A short welcome speech will precede the dinner.
proceed verb
To go forward or go ahead, often by moving on to the next step.
- Drivers may proceed through the intersection when the light turns green.
- After a short break, the meeting proceeded as planned.
Watch out
- Watch the endings when you spell them. Precede ends in cede, and proceed ends in ceed.
- The two words sound close. In careful speech their first vowel differs, but in quick speech they can sound almost alike, so go by the meaning.
- Precede takes an object, the thing that comes later: A precedes B. In the passive, the thing after by comes first: B is preceded by A. Proceed takes no object and often goes with to or with.Let us proceed to the next item on the agenda.
Test yourself
All passengers should now blank to Gate 12 for boarding.
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proceed. The passengers are being told to go forward to the gate.
In the parade, the marching band will blank the floats.
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precede. The band goes before the floats in order.
Once you have read the rules, you may blank with the test.
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proceed. You are allowed to go ahead and continue.
A short welcome speech will blank the main talk.
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precede. The speech comes before the main talk in time.