previous to

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

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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
  • And that’s even before Brian Flynn, long-time Burnley resident and legendary former Wrexham manager who effectively rebuilt the club in the 1990s, pops up to say hello.
    Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Much of Gladys’s ride was through mountains, on roads that were little more than cattle trails, or on rough corduroy used by heavy logging wagons (this was long before the day of logging trucks) with crude pole bridges.
    Ben East, Outdoor Life, 14 Mar. 2025
Preposition
  • Viju Mathew Shifting gears from his degree in physical geography, Viju Mathew has spent the last decade covering most categories of the luxury market prior to becoming Robb Report's automotive editor.
    Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 16 Mar. 2025
  • But Arnold and Chen are X-factors at their best, and both seemed to have shaken early-season inconsistencies prior to the Big East Tournament, so Auriemma didn’t seem concerned by the minor slump.
    Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 15 Mar. 2025
Preposition
  • The Knicks will travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Thursday before returning home for a date with the Washington Wizards on Saturday.
    Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 20 Mar. 2025
  • On Tuesday alone, a federal judge blocked the administration’s Department of Government Efficiency from making further cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development, while another judge […] Subscribe to continue reading this article.
    Cory Smith, Baltimore Sun, 20 Mar. 2025

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“Previous to.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/previous%20to. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.

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