First Known Use: 15th century
Dictionary
precede
verb pre·cede \pri-ˈsēd\
: to happen, go, or come before (something or someone)
: to do or say something before (something)
pre·ced·edpre·ced·ing
Full Definition of PRECEDE
transitive verb
1
: to surpass in rank, dignity, or importance
2
: to be, go, or come ahead or in front of
3
: to be earlier than
intransitive verb
: to go or come before
See precede defined for English-language learners
See precede defined for kids
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Examples of PRECEDE
- Minutes before 10:30 p.m. in China, the stadium pulsed with the emotions that always precede a 100-meter final. —Tim Layden, Sports Illustrated, 25 Aug. 2008
- But research has now shown that so-called responses to rhythm actually precede the external beat. We anticipate the beat … —Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia, 2007
- The print media ape the manners of television, and on television form precedes content, emotion replaces thought, legend substitutes for history, fiction dictates to fact. —Lewis H. Lapham, Harper's, September 1998
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Origin of PRECEDE
Middle English, from Middle French preceder, from Latin praecedere, from prae- pre- + cedere to go
Related to PRECEDE
Rhymes with PRECEDE
accede, airspeed, bindweed, birdseed, blueweed, bourride, breast-feed, bur reed, burweed, cheerlead, chickweed, concede, crossbreed, cudweed, debride, degreed, duckweed, exceed, fairlead, fern seed, fireweed, flaxseed, force-feed, free reed, Godspeed, ground speed, gulfweed, half-breed, hand-feed, hawkweed, hayseed, high-speed, horseweed, impede, implead, inbreed, indeed, ironweed, Jamshid, jetbead, knapweed, knotweed, linseed, lip-read, milkweed, misdeed, mislead, misread, moonseed, nosebleed, off-speed, oilseed, pigweed, pinweed, pokeweed, pondweed, proceed, proofread, ragweed, rapeseed, recede, reseed, rockweed, seaweed, secede, self-feed, Siegfried, sight-read, silkweed, smartweed, snakeweed, sneezeweed, speed-read, spoon-feed, stall-feed, stampede, stickseed, stickweed, stinkweed, succeed, ten-speed, tickseed, warp speed, weak-kneed, witchweed, wormseed
PRECEDE Defined for Kids
precede
verb pre·cede \pri-ˈsēd\
pre·ced·edpre·ced·ing
Definition of PRECEDE for Kids
: to be or go before in importance, position, or time <Many failures preceded her success.>
Word Root of PRECEDE
The Latin word cedere, meaning “to go,” gives us the root ced. Words from the Latin cedere have something to do with going. To precede is to go before. To exceed is to go beyond a limit. To proceed is to go forward. To recede is to go back or away.
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