Before
Before adverb - So as to precede something in order of time.
Preceding and before are semantically related in time topic. In some cases you can use "Preceding" instead the word "Before" as an adjective or an adverb or a preposition, when it comes to topics like front, ahead of, earlier than.
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
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The Year Inside, Hour Outside nature of game-time was even referred to before the Time Skip, albeit only in the immediately-preceding episode.
Source: Western Animation / ReBoot -
Each outing can not only take several years of in-comic time, but are told in a non-linear fashion, with some outings taking centuries before or after the preceding arc.
Source: Webcomic Time - In the game, you and a second player control a chicken that you must get safely across a busy highway as many times as you can before the time runs out.This game provides examples of Chicken Joke: Literally done as a video game, preceding the mobile game Crossy Road.
Source: Video Game / Freeway
Cite this Source
Preceding and Before. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/before/preceding
Before & Preceding. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/before/preceding>.
Preceding or Before. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/before/preceding.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "before" and "preceding" have occurred on timeline