preceding

«preceding» in Mova's school dictionary: Coming just before something in time, order or position… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

adjective (preceding); verb (present participle of «precede»: precede, precedes, preceded, preceding)

meaning for a pupil

1) Coming just before something in time, order or position (the preceding page, the preceding year). tree →

2) Going in front of or happening before something else. tree →

sense in the lessons

A formal exam and maths word: «the preceding number» is the one just before (the number preceding 50 is 49); «in the preceding question» means the one before. In stories, events preceding a storm. Phrases: «the preceding day», «preceding question», «in the preceding weeks».

examples

• Look at the preceding page for the answer. tree →
• The number preceding 100 is 99. tree →
• Use your answer from the preceding question. tree →
• In the preceding weeks, she practised every day. tree →
• The days preceding the holiday were busy. tree →
• A flash of lightning comes in the seconds preceding the thunder. tree →
• The evening passed pleasantly like the one preceding. tree →

note

Formal; everyday: «before», «previous», «last». Opposite: «following», «next». Do not confuse «precede» (come before) with «proceed» (go on). In maths: the number preceding n is n − 1; the term preceding in a sequence comes just before.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «preceding» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.