Your predecessor is the person who had your job before you.
He maintained that he learned everything he knew from his predecessor.
Synonyms: previous job holder, precursor, forerunner, antecedent More Synonyms of predecessor
2. countable noun [usually with poss]
The predecessor of an object or machine is the object or machine that came before it in a sequence or process of development.
The car is some 40mm shorter than its predecessor.
More Synonyms of predecessor
predecessor in British English
(ˈpriːdɪˌsɛsə)
noun
1.
a person who precedes another, as in an office
2.
something that precedes something else
3.
an ancestor; forefather
Word origin
C14: via Old French from Late Latin praedēcessor, from prae before + dēcēdere to go away, from dē away + cēdere to go
predecessor in American English
(ˈprɛdəˌsɛsər; ˈpridəˈsɛsər; ˌ prɛdəˈsɛsər)
noun
1.
a person who precedes or preceded another, as in office
2.
a thing replaced by another thing, as in use
3.
an ancestor; forefather
Word origin
ME predecessour < MFr predecesseur < LL praedecessor < L prae-, before (see pre-) + decessor, retiring officer < decessus, pp. of decedere, to go away, depart < de-, from + cedere, to go: see cede
Examples of 'predecessor' in a sentence
predecessor
All her predecessors in recent decades have faced corruption investigations after they left office.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
All her predecessors in recent decades have faced corruption investigations afterthey left office.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Quite a switch from its three predecessors.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The record under one or two of his predecessors was impressive but negative.
The Sun (2013)
Yet he can be a little more optimistic than his recent predecessors.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Like his three predecessors he has undoubted stature.
Wright, Vincent The Government and Politics of France (1989)
House was a very different man from his two distinguished predecessors.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Where he is expected to differ from his recent predecessors is on the election.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
His two predecessors had said something similar.
Christianity Today (2000)
But their predecessors had enjoyed two advantages.
French, David The British way in Warfare - 1688-2000 (1990)
But he merely extended and made more open the practice of his two predecessors.
Wright, Vincent The Government and Politics of France (1989)
But it is still true that the new president takes on a challenge different in nature from recent predecessors.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
She also has the comfort of knowing that it will not be hard for her to do a better job than her predecessor.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Here are some of the princess's illustrious predecessors who have made a name for themselves.
The Sun (2015)
He switched serenely between keyboard and guitar throughout, just as his illustrious predecessor used to do.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This winter was less hard Than its three predecessors were.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
The new mayor of London seems to want a lower public profile than his two predecessors.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He stressed the continuity between his two predecessors, and their esteem for each other.
Hebblethwaite, Peter Paul VI - The First Modern Pope (1993)
To make matters worse, he finds out that three of his predecessors died on the job in suspicious circumstances.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
His three predecessors were not family members: there is a growing sense that their shortcomings produced the present woes.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Far better than recent predecessors.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Precisely the same argument applies to one of Fury's most illustrious predecessors as heavyweight champion.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Then he copied recent predecessors by turning his BACK on her instead of walking backwards down the steps from the throne.
The Sun (2010)
For others, it represents more than they have earned in their life, or more than illustrious predecessors earned in a career.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
You have the chance, if you seize it, to become a national leader rather than simply a church spokesman like your recent predecessors.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
predecessor
British English: predecessor /ˈpriːdɪˌsɛsə/ NOUN
Your predecessor is the person who had your job before you.
He learned everything he knew from his predecessor.