Meaning & use
precursor
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Meanings
nouncountableformal
Something or someone that existed earlier and led the way to a later, more developed version.
Grammar: Usually followed by to or of: a precursor to the modern phone.
Patterns
- a precursor to something
- a precursor of something
The telegraph was a precursor to the telephone.
Early blues music was a precursor of rock and roll.
Her small shop was the precursor to a national chain.
nouncountableformal
A sign that something is about to happen, often something unpleasant.
Grammar: Often followed by to: a precursor to trouble.
Patterns
- a precursor to something
A dry spell can be a precursor to wildfires.
The headaches were a precursor to a much worse illness.
nouncountablechemistrytechnical
A substance from which another substance is made through a chemical reaction.
Grammar: Countable technical use: a precursor of a hormone.
Patterns
- a precursor of something
- a precursor to something
Cholesterol is a precursor of several hormones.
The factory makes a chemical precursor used in plastics.
Word forms
| plural | precursors |
|---|
Common combinations
- a precursor to
- The agreement was a precursor to wider reform.
- an early precursor
- The abacus is an early precursor of the calculator.
- a clear precursor
- Falling sales were a clear precursor of the company's collapse.
- chemical precursor
- Each chemical precursor must be stored separately.
- a worthy precursor
- The first model was a worthy precursor of today's version.
Synonyms and how they differ
- forerunner
- Forerunner is a less formal word and is often used for something earlier of the same kind, while precursor can also mean a warning sign.
- predecessor
- Predecessor mainly means the person or thing that held a role or position before, rather than something that paved the way.
- harbinger
- Harbinger is literary and focuses on signaling what is coming, usually a coming event.
- ancestor
- Ancestor suggests a direct line of descent, which precursor does not require.
Opposites
Word family
- precursory adjective
- coming before and preparing the way
- precede verb
- to come before
- course noun
- related to the Latin root meaning to run
- cursor noun
- a marker on a screen, from the same root meaning runner
Commonly confused: precursor or cursor?
precursor vs cursor
A cursor is the moving marker on a computer screen, while a precursor is something that comes before another thing.
Practice
The small local festival was the _____ of today's huge city event.
Choose one answer.
A precursor is something earlier that led to the later thing. A successor would come after the city event, which reverses the order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “precursor”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.