DictionaryAI

precedent

SayPRES-i-duhnt/ˈpɹɛs.ɪ.dənt/
As an adjectivepri-SEE-duhnt

Pluralprecedents

Verbprecedents, precedenting, precedented

10 meanings of precedent

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    An earlier action that people look at to decide what to do in similar cases later.

    Like the first person to cut across a lawn: soon a path forms and everyone follows it.

    Letting one student retake the test set a precedent for the whole class.

    Once you make an exception, it becomes a precedent that others will expect.

    Similarexample, pattern, standard, model, benchmark

    Note
  2. 2
    nouncountable
    An earlier court decision that judges use to help decide a similar case later.

    Like judging a new game by the rules used in an earlier one.

    The judge followed an earlier precedent when she ruled on the case.

    Lawyers searched for a precedent that supported their client's argument.

    Similarauthority, ruling, decision

    Note
  3. 3
    nouncountable
    A way of doing something that has become normal over time.

    Like a path worn into the grass because people keep walking the same way.

    Sharing a meal on Sundays became a family precedent over the years.

    There was no precedent for letting the children stay up so late.

    Similarcustom, tradition, convention, practice, habit

  4. 4
    adjective
    Coming or happening before something else in time.

    Like the chapter you read just before this one.

    Every precedent attempt to climb the peak had ended in failure.

    The precedent chapter explained all the basic rules.

    Similarprevious, preceding, antecedent, prior

    Oppositesubsequent, following, later, succeeding

  5. 5
    nouncountable
    An earlier version of something that came before the one used now.

    Like the older phone you owned before buying a new one.

    This software fixes the bugs that the precedent had.

    The new model is faster and lighter than its precedent.

    Similarpredecessor, forerunner, antecedent

    Oppositesuccessor

  6. 6
    verbtransitive
    To supply earlier cases that support a later legal decision.

    Like older recipes that show a cook why the new dish is made a certain way.

    Earlier rulings precedent the court's current approach to the matter.

    Many old cases precedent this kind of judgment.

    Note
  7. 7
    verbtransitive
    To act as an earlier example for a later legal case.

    Like the first house on a street that every later house is built to match.

    Older judgments precedent the cases judges hear now.

    This famous trial precedents many later rulings.

    Similarguide, shape, underpin

    Note

Less common meanings

  1. 8
    adjectivearchaic
    Coming before something else in an order or list.

    Like the lower rungs of a ladder you climb before reaching the top.

    The precedent clause in the list must be read first.

    Each precedent step prepares you for the next one.

    Note
  2. 9
    nounobsolete
    An early rough copy of a piece of writing, made before the final one.
    My Lord Melun, let this be copied out, I did suppose it should be on constraint ; And keep it safe for our remembrance : But , heaven be thank'd , it is but voluntary , Return the precedent to these lords again
    c. 1596, William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”Here, precedent means the rough first draft, the copy made before the final one.
    Note
  3. 10
    nounobsoletewith the
    Something already named or talked about earlier.
    A third argument may be derived from the precedent.
    New York 2001Here, the precedent means what was already mentioned earlier.
    Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of precedent apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It came through French from the Latin word praecedere, meaning 'to precede.'