previous

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Prior; occurring before something else, either in time or order.

   He is no better than the previous Prime Minister.

2. 2
   adj

   Premature; acting or occurring too soon.

   I was a bit previous it turned out, as I worked short-handed for ten days before I could find another hand.

3. 3
   noun

   An existing criminal record (short for "previous convictions")

   It turned out the shoplifter had a lot of previous.

4. 4
   noun

   A track record of similar behaviour, especially bad behaviour.

   For that Smalling will have to do his time grazing in the scapegoat’s paddock because his contribution here supplied hard evidence of a player lacking the football intelligence that is needed at the highest level. He has previous on that front and it is difficult to find any mitigation for the way he scythed down James Milner when the first rule for a defender on a yellow card is not to dive in unless it is absolutely necessary.

5. 5
   noun

   A record of previous hostility or conflict (between people).

   The two players refused to shake hands — there's a bit of previous there.

6. 6
   adj

   just preceding something else in time or order

7. 7
   adj

   (used especially of persons) of the immediate past

8. 8
   adj

   too soon or too hasty

Etymology

From Latin praevius.