- a judicial decision that serves as an authority for deciding a later case
- an example or instance used to justify later similar occurrences
- preceding
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
prec•e•dent /n. ˈprɛsɪdənt; adj. prɪˈsidənt, ˈprɛsɪdənt/USA pronunciation
n.
adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- [countable] an instance that may serve as an example for allowing later, similar situations.
- Law a legal decision serving as a rule or pattern governing similar cases that follow:[countable]The lawyer found a precedent from a court case in the 19th century.
- established practice;
custom:[uncountable]to break with precedent.
adj.
- preceding;
coming before.
prec•e•dent
(n. pres′i dənt;adj. pri sēd′nt, pres′i dənt),USA pronunciation n.
adj. pre•ce•dent
prec′e•dent•less, adj.
- Lawa legal decision or form of proceeding serving as an authoritative rule or pattern in future similar or analogous cases.
- any act, decision, or case that serves as a guide or justification for subsequent situations.
adj. pre•ce•dent
- preceding;
anterior.
- Latin praecēdent- (stem of praecēdēns) present participle of praecēdere to go before, precede (see -ent); (noun, nominal) late Middle English, derivative of the adjective, adjectival
- (adjective, adjectival) Middle English 1350–1400
- 2. example, model, pattern, standard.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
precedent n /ˈprɛsɪdənt/
'precedent' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
case law
- establish
- example
- institute
- obiter dictum
- precedence
- precedented
- precedential
- Savigny
- test case
- unexampled
- unheard-of
- unprecedented
- way
- authority file
- citation
- document
- foregoing
- myself
- quasi-precedent
- unconventional
- unwritten constitution
- Zenger