previous to

as in before
earlier than his passport arrived just previous to his trip

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of previous to In the four years previous to that Flamengo and Palmeiras dominated South American football winning two titles each. Joseph O'Sullivan, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024 Nine years previous to that, his Ghanaian parents Maria and Felix travelled overland, across the Sahara desert to the Spanish enclave of Melilla in north Africa, when Maria was pregnant with her first son Inaki (as the elder Williams sibling told The Athletic in an interview in 2022). Dermot Corrigan, The Athletic, 4 July 2024 The other alleged incident happened previous to the plaintiff’s full-time employment with Ye’s operations, which started in 2021. Dennis Romero, NBC News, 13 Oct. 2024 Chris Smither has been a longtime favorite of the EC-CHAP family, according to the organization’s assistant director, Ryan Elgin, who noted that efforts to schedule Smither began previous to the pandemic. Melanie Savage, Hartford Courant, 10 Feb. 2024 See All Example Sentences for previous to
Recent Examples of Synonyms for previous to
Preposition
  • Freire defended his featherweight crown three times as a two-division champ before losing a July 2021 submission to A.J. McKee.
    Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
  • But on the flip side, consumers are unlikely to see radical changes to the iPhone before then.
    Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 6 Apr. 2025
Preposition
  • Dansby Swanson, whom Hoyer signed to a seven-year, $177 million deal — one of the largest contracts in franchise history — prior to the 2023 season, has grown close to Hoyer in his two-plus years with the team.
    Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Nash became head coach prior to the 2020-21 season.
    Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025
Preposition
  • The order was endorsed by organizations from Live Nation to the National Consumers League — and ticket reselling agencies, too.
    Chris Willman, Variety, 1 Apr. 2025
  • Amazon’s spring sale has everything from hiking boots to walking sneakers, like these Ecco Track shoes that are perfect for exploring trails.
    Rylee Johnston, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Previous to.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/previous%20to. Accessed 10 Apr. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!