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
  • Freire defended his featherweight crown three times as a two-division champ before losing a July 2021 submission to A.J. McKee.
    Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 7 Apr. 2025
  • But on the flip side, consumers are unlikely to see radical changes to the iPhone before then.
    Will McCurdy, PC Magazine, 6 Apr. 2025
Preposition
  • Dansby Swanson, whom Hoyer signed to a seven-year, $177 million deal — one of the largest contracts in franchise history — prior to the 2023 season, has grown close to Hoyer in his two-plus years with the team.
    Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
  • House Speaker Matthew Ritter, D-Hartford, said the Republican leadership had not spoken to him prior to Thursday about creating an inspector general’s office to investigate issues in state government.
    Andrew Brown, Hartford Courant, 27 Mar. 2025
Preposition
  • President Trump sent a letter to Khamenei last month urging negotiations, warning of possible military action if Iran refuses.
    CBS News, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2025
  • Coit announced his transfer to Maryland on Tuesday.
    Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Previous to.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/previous%20to. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

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