predate
part of speech
verb (predate, predates, predated, predating)
meaning for a pupil
1) To exist or happen earlier than something else: «Dinosaurs predate humans by millions of years.» tree →
2) To write a date on a document that is earlier than the real day (also «backdate»). tree →
3) (science, of animals) To hunt and eat other animals as prey (a related word: predator). tree →
sense in the lessons
In history and science timelines it means «come before». In nature lessons «predate on» means an animal hunts others. It is the opposite of «postdate». Phrases: «predate by», «long predate», «predate on».
examples
- Stonehenge predates the pyramids of Giza in some of its parts. tree →
- The oak tree predates every house in our street. tree →
- Fossils show that sharks predate dinosaurs. tree →
- Owls predate on mice and voles. tree →
- Some stories of King Arthur predate the castles they mention. tree →
- Dad predated the form by mistake, so he had to fill in a new one. tree →
note
Opposite: postdate. Also spelled «pre-date». Do not confuse with «predator» (an animal that hunts). On a timeline, what predates something sits further to the left (earlier). The sense «to hunt» is used mainly by scientists.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «predate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.