as in forerunners
something belonging to an earlier time from which something else was later developed
the once-ubiquitous typewriter was the predecessor of today's electronic keyboard
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Recent Examples of predecessors
Naval Combat Demolition Units and others are the predecessors of the Navy SEALs, possibly best known for the mission in 2011 that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
—
Usa Today Network, USA Today, 10 June 2026
During their mission, the crew will spend around two weeks inside their Orion capsule—about four days more than their predecessors did in April’s Artemis II mission, a nearly 10-day voyage that took four other astronauts looping around the moon’s farside.
—Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 9 June 2026
In other words, one of the greatest directors of all time is back on home turf, so — even if the new movie can't quite match its predecessors — it's guaranteed to be worth talking about.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 9 June 2026
Kennedy could have emphasized, like his predecessors, that peace was only possible through military might.
—Abigail R. Hall, Oc Register, 8 June 2026
The Spaniard has agreed to take over this summer and will have more freedom than any of his predecessors to mould the Chelsea team in his own image.
—Graham Ruthven, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026
While first ladies and presidents have previously shared private moments with their successors and predecessors in spite of political animosity, Jill wrote in the second-to-last chapter of A View from the East Wing that Melania and her had spent very little time together over the years.
—Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026
Silver points to one of Wembanyama’s predecessors in San Antonio, Tim Duncan, having no interest in doing that.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 5 June 2026
Missing the gritty vigor of the first two films, Rocky III is more focused on violence than its predecessors and less interested in the witty character work that defined the original.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
Usa Today Network, USA Today, 10 June 2026
During their mission, the crew will spend around two weeks inside their Orion capsule—about four days more than their predecessors did in April’s Artemis II mission, a nearly 10-day voyage that took four other astronauts looping around the moon’s farside.
—Claire Cameron, Scientific American, 9 June 2026
In other words, one of the greatest directors of all time is back on home turf, so — even if the new movie can't quite match its predecessors — it's guaranteed to be worth talking about.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 9 June 2026
Kennedy could have emphasized, like his predecessors, that peace was only possible through military might.
—Abigail R. Hall, Oc Register, 8 June 2026
The Spaniard has agreed to take over this summer and will have more freedom than any of his predecessors to mould the Chelsea team in his own image.
—Graham Ruthven, Forbes.com, 6 June 2026
While first ladies and presidents have previously shared private moments with their successors and predecessors in spite of political animosity, Jill wrote in the second-to-last chapter of A View from the East Wing that Melania and her had spent very little time together over the years.
—Joseph Konig, PEOPLE, 5 June 2026
Silver points to one of Wembanyama’s predecessors in San Antonio, Tim Duncan, having no interest in doing that.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 5 June 2026
Missing the gritty vigor of the first two films, Rocky III is more focused on violence than its predecessors and less interested in the witty character work that defined the original.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predecessors
Noun
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Even the Hammurabi Code, a set of laws created by the sixth Babylonian king in approximately 1760 bce, established forerunners of today’s interest rate and minimum wage laws.—
Chris Roush,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
22 Apr. 2026
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The Norwegian ended his season before the Olympics to further recover from a shoulder injury, but attended the finals as one of the forerunners, who test a course shortly before a race starts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Velociraptors and microraptors were not birds, but they were closely related to ancestors of the earliest birds, such as Archaeopteryx.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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The behavior may be inherited from wild ancestors Why dogs like grass in the first place is harder to answer.—
Niranjana Rajalakshmi,
Popular Science,
4 June 2026
Noun
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Many scientists believe that the vocal systems of great apes were too limited to be considered precursors of human language, but the work of Crockford, Berthet and their colleagues suggests otherwise.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026
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These foods don’t have sky-high amounts of melatonin, and some contain more precursors to melatonin than the hormone itself, Tahir says.—
Sarah Klein,
Time,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Predecessors.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predecessors. Accessed 10 Jun. 2026.
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