predecessors

IPA/ˈpriː.dɪˌses.ər/
KK[prˈɛdəsˌɛsɚz]IPA/ˈpred.ə.ses.ɚ/

predecessors — noun

  • predecessorssingular
  • predecessorsesplural

1. people who held a role before the current person, or earlier versions that later

1.名詞C2
釋義

people who held a role before the current person, or earlier versions that later ones replaced.

例句

At the museum, Eleni praised her predecessors for saving rare letters.

possessive + predecessors for earlier office holders

Engineers tested the new batteries against their predecessors in winter storms.

comparison with earlier versions of a product

同義詞
  • forerunners

    often emphasizes earlier things that point forward to later development

  • precursors

    more formal and more common for things, events, or warning signs

  • ancestors

    used for family, species, or cultural history rather than earlier office holders

反義詞

文法句型

someone's predecessors

the predecessors of something

compare something with its predecessors

用法筆記

Common in formal writing about jobs, institutions, governments, and product lines. With people, it often follows a possessive phrase, and with things it usually appears in comparisons with a newer version.

常見錯誤

❌My predecessors are from Fujian.
✅My ancestors are from Fujian.
💡'predecessors' means earlier role holders or earlier versions, not family members from long ago.
❌The predecessor team made this plan.
✅The previous team made this plan.
💡'predecessors' is a noun, not an adjective before another noun.