Definition of precedent:

• Something said or done before, as an example to follow in a similar case; a previous parallel case.
• That may serve as an example or rule to be followed in future actions of the like kind; that which has been done before of a like kind; an authority, or a judicial decision to be followed in similar or analogous cases.
• Going before: anterior.

Usage examples for precedent

1. The house was crammed, and the audience, we were assured, was enthusiastic beyond all precedent.  Records of a Girlhood by Frances Ann Kemble

2. This unusual combination, however, was not altogether without precedent.  An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800 by Mary Frances Cusack

3. This had an historical precedent.  The Invaders by William Fitzgerald Jenkins