previous and prior imply existing or occurring earlier, but prior often adds an implication of greater importance.

PREVIOUS definition: coming or occurring before something else; prior. See examples of previous used in a sentence.

If someone has previous, they have been found guilty of one or more crimes in the past. Previous is short for "previous convictions ": He's got previous for stealing from his employer.

A previous event or thing is one that happened or existed before the one that you are talking about. I'm a lot happier than I was in my previous job. He has no previous convictions.

Jan 18, 2026 · Adjective previous (comparative more previous, superlative most previous) (not comparable) Prior; occurring before something else, either in time or order. He is no better than the …

preceding, previous - Preceding means "occurring immediately before the time of the utterance," while previous means "occurring at some time before the utterance."

pre•vi•ous (prē′ vē əs), adj. coming or occurring before something else; prior: the previous owner. Informal Terms done, occurring, etc., before the proper time; premature: Aren't you a little previous …

previous is a borrowing from Latin, combined with an English element. Etymons: Latin praevius, ‑ous suffix. What is the earliest known use of the word previous? The earliest known use of the word …

Previously to; before (previous being used adverbially, and with the preposition to equivalent to a simple preposition, before). Compare prior to, in a like loose use.

Previous definition: Existing or occurring before something else in time or order; prior.