precedents

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of precedent.

   Judges often look to earlier precedents when deciding difficult cases.

   The committee found no clear precedents for the unusual request.

   Note

   Every countable meaning of the noun can take this plural. It can mean past acts held up as examples, decided cases cited to justify a later judgment, or established customs. Law is where the plural works hardest, since courts cite precedents to support a ruling. Two older meanings, a rough draft before the finished copy and "the aforementioned" thing, are obsolete. The plural now points almost entirely to examples and rulings.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of precedent.

   Note

   It has the same spelling as the noun plural, but here it is a transitive verb that needs a direct object. Something precedents a later decision by serving as a precedent for it or by supplying precedents for it. It follows a singular subject, as in "the ruling precedents," never "the rulings precedents." When a sentence is ambiguous, check whether the word is performing the action. If it is, this is the verb.

Showing meanings only. Show all 2