previous — meaning in English & Vietnamese

English · Word Candidate

/ˈpɹi.vi.əs/

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Also seen as: previouses

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

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

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Trước đó, xảy ra trước một thứ khác, về thời gian hoặc thứ tự

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Adjective

Examples

He is no better than the previous Prime Minister.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 2

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

Premature; acting or occurring too soon.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Sớm quá, hành động hoặc xảy ra quá sớm

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

AdjectiveRegister: informal

Examples

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

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 3

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

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

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

hồ sơ tội phạm trước đó

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

NounRegister: UK, informal

Examples

It turned out the shoplifter had a lot of previous.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Sense 4

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

A track record of similar behaviour, especially bad behaviour.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Hồ sơ hành vi tương tự, đặc biệt là hành vi xấu

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

NounRegister: UK, informal

Examples

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 h

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-08-01 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “previous” mean?

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

Is “previous” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.