predecessor

predecessor — noun

1. the person in a job before the present holder, or an older form of something tha

1.nounC2
Definition

the person in a job before the present holder, or an older form of something that a newer one later replaced.

Example

Mayor Chen thanked her predecessor for starting the new bridge project.

possessive + predecessor for earlier office holder

The latest printer jams less often than its predecessor.

comparison with an earlier model

Common collocations
  • direct predecessor
  • immediate predecessor
  • predecessor in office
  • paper predecessor
  • royal predecessor
Synonyms
  • forerunner

    often stresses an earlier form that helps lead to what comes later

  • precursor

    more formal; usually used for things, events, or signs rather than office holders

  • ancestor

    used for family lines, species, or older cultures, not usually for a previous person in a job

Antonyms
  • successor

    the person or thing that comes after

Grammar Patterns

someone's predecessor

the predecessor of/to something

predecessor in office

Usage Note

Often used in formal writing, news, business, and politics. For people, English commonly uses a possessive or role phrase such as 'her predecessor' or 'his predecessor in office'; for products, systems, and governments, it often appears in comparisons with a newer version.

Common Mistakes

The predecessor week was very busy.
The previous week was very busy.
'predecessor' is a noun, not an adjective before another noun.
My predecessor came to Taiwan two hundred years ago.
My ancestor came to Taiwan two hundred years ago.
'predecessor' means an earlier holder or earlier form, not simply a family member from long ago.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Predecessor' is the best word for the person who had a role before someone else, or for an earlier version replaced by a newer one. 'Forerunner' often suggests an early form that points forward to later development, so it is common with ideas, styles, and inventions. 'Precursor' is more formal and usually fits an earlier event, substance, or sign rather than the last mayor or manager. 'Ancestor' belongs to family history, species history, or old cultures, not to office titles. You can thank your predecessor after taking over a school, but you would call smoke a precursor to fire, not a predecessor. An old phone model may be the forerunner of a modern one, while your grandfather is your ancestor.

predecessor ↗forerunnerprecursorancestor ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • direct predecessor
  • immediate predecessor
  • political predecessor
  • paper predecessor
  • royal predecessor

Phrases

  • thank a predecessor
  • succeed a predecessor
  • compare something with its predecessor

Prepositions

  • predecessor of
  • predecessor to
  • predecessor in

Etymology

LatinMedieval LatinEnglish

Predecessor came into English from Latin-based writing. Its Latin source, 'praedecessor', meant a person who went before another, built from parts meaning 'before' and 'go away' or 'leave'. In English, the word first became common for an earlier holder of a post, and later it was also used for an earlier form of a machine, system, or state.