PREDATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does predate mean? 

• PREDATE (verb)
  The verb PREDATE has 4 senses:

1. be earlier in time; go back further

2. come before

3. prey on or hunt for

4. establish something as being earlier relative to something else

  Familiarity information: PREDATE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PREDATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they predate    ... he / she / it predates   
Past simple: predated   
Past participle: predated   
-ing form: predating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be earlier in time; go back further

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

antecede; antedate; forego; forgo; precede; predate

Context example:

Stone tools precede bronze tools

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Antonym:

postdate (be later in time)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Come before

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

precede; predate

Context example:

Most English adjectives precede the noun they modify

Hypernyms (to "predate" is one way to...):

lie (be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Prey on or hunt for

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

predate; prey; raven

Context example:

These mammals predate certain eggs

Hypernyms (to "predate" is one way to...):

forage (wander and feed)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

predation (the act of preying by a predator who kills and eats the prey)

predation (an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Establish something as being earlier relative to something else

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

antedate; foredate; predate

Hypernyms (to "predate" is one way to...):

chronologise; chronologize (establish the order in time of something)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

postdate (establish something as being later relative to something else)

 Context examples 

T. rhadinus predated dinosaurs, living more than 245 million years ago during the Triassic Period.

(Scientists discover fossil of dinosaur ancestor with surprising croc-like appearance, NSF)

Its widespread presence on Earth is no surprise, as silica dust has been found throughout the universe and in meteorites that predate our solar system.

(Exploding Stars Make Key Ingredient in Sand, Glass, NASA)

Hypertension that predates pregnancy.

(Chronic Maternal Hypertension, NCI Thesaurus)

This new discovery of one of these compounds, Freon-40, in places that must predate the origin of life, can be seen as a disappointment, as earlier research had suggested that these molecules could indicate the presence of life.

(ALMA and Rosetta Detect Freon-40 in Space, ESO)