Precedent definition
An act, statement, legal decision, case, etc. that may serve as an example, reason, or justification for a later one.
noun
A practice based upon earlier precedents.
noun
The definition of precedent is a decision that is the basis or reason for future decisions.
An example of precedent is the legal decision in Brown v. Board of Education guiding future laws about desegregation.
noun
(law) A decided case which is cited or used as an example to justify a judgment in a subsequent case.
noun
An act in the past which may be used as an example to help decide the outcome of similar instances in the future.
noun
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Convention or custom arising from long practice.
The president followed historical precedent in forming the Cabinet.
noun
An act or instance that may be used as an example in dealing with subsequent similar instances.
noun
(law) A judicial decision that is binding on other equal or lower courts in the same jurisdiction as to its conclusion on a point of law, and may also be persuasive to courts in other jurisdictions, in subsequent cases involving sufficiently similar facts.
noun
Something that came before, hence preceded the event currently in question, such as a previously decided case. It may serve as a model for the interpretation of a law, or disposition as a case.
adjective
(law) To provide precedents for.
verb
(law) To be a precedent for.
verb
The previous version.
noun
That precedes; preceding.
adjective
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Preceding.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
precedent
Plural:
precedentsOrigin of precedent
- Middle English from Old French from Latin praecēdēns praecēdent- present participle of praecēdere to go before precede
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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From Wiktionary