How to Use precedent in a Sentence

precedent

noun
  • The judge's ruling was based on legal precedent.
  • He says that the government will set a dangerous precedent if it refuses to allow the protesters to hold a rally.
  • The judge's ruling was based on a precedent established by an earlier decision.
  • But the demise of precedent has long been a hallmark of the Trump era.
    New York Times, 26 July 2022
  • But the precedent was set that that kind of movie could get you in.
    Derek Lawrence, EW.com, 30 Apr. 2021
  • The scale of the project has little in the way of precedent, Raynor explained.
    Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 16 Feb. 2020
  • There’s precedent for an across-the-bay leap for the district.
    Bryn Stole, baltimoresun.com, 3 Dec. 2021
  • There is a precedent here in moving back late in the first round.
    Paul Dehner Jr., Cincinnati.com, 9 Apr. 2018
  • There was precedent for this sort of appeal, but not in the courts.
    Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, 20 Mar. 2018
  • This time, the process follows none of those precedents.
    Journal Sentinel Staff, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 31 Oct. 2019
  • The sheer lack of precedent for what a humpback whale birth looks like.
    National Geographic, 17 Apr. 2018
  • Then there’s the sudden or strange death-of-the-leader precedent.
    Michael Krepon, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2022
  • But this would break with both precedent and the Senate’s norms.
    Jane Mayer, The New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2020
  • If the past is a precedent, bigwigs like Uber won’t bow down, though.
    Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 12 Oct. 2022
  • And there is no guidebook, no clear precedent, about how to do that.
    Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, 13 July 2022
  • That will be the key marker of the deal for precedent purposes.
    Andrew Brandt, SI.com, 10 July 2018
  • To be owned by someone just sets a bad precedent to start.
    Peter Dawson, star-telegram, 4 Nov. 2017
  • That would have set a new precedent and smoothed the way for Xi’s own extension.
    Jessica Meyers, latimes.com, 24 Oct. 2017
  • There is a precedent for hefty fines against the mechanics' unions.
    Dallas News, 13 Aug. 2019
  • There is precedent for this - the Ukrainians have done it before.
    CBS News, 5 Jan. 2022
  • Thomas seemed to take a shot at that deference to precedent by Roberts.
    Fox News, 29 June 2020
  • Also, there is precedent for the NBA to take bold action when these sorts of things come up.
    Greg Moore, The Arizona Republic, 8 May 2023
  • The texting-suicide case set a new precedent and made headlines around the world.
    Dana Feldman, Forbes, 22 Apr. 2022
  • The picture is further muddled by the fact that there is no precedent.
    Laura He, CNN, 31 Jan. 2024
  • And on these claims — and whether they should be tried — the families had precedent going for them.
    Nicole Asbury, Washington Post, 13 May 2023
  • There is some precedent for waiving the fees, Greenberg said.
    Colby Itkowitz, Washington Post, 13 July 2018
  • The creation of this kind of registry is not without precedent.
    Steven Q. Simpson, STAT, 9 June 2020
  • Even if there ain't no precedent, switchin' up the messaging.
    Teen Vogue Staff, Teen Vogue, 19 Apr. 2019
  • Their music may not sound anything like Glass (in Salonen’s case adamantly not), but none of it would have been the same without Glass’ precedent.
    Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
  • There is a precedent for Congress to step in and aid the recovery efforts in Baltimore, having previously done so for similar disasters.
    Timothy Nerozzi, Fox News, 26 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'precedent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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