1. 前任；前辈
Your predecessor is the person who had your job before you.
e.g. He maintained that he learned everything he knew from his predecessor Kenneth Sisam.
他坚称他所知道的一切都获自前任肯尼思·赛瑟姆。
2. （物件、机器的）前身
The predecessor of an object or machine is the object or machine that came before it in a sequence or process of development.
e.g. The car is some 40mm shorter than its predecessor.
这辆轿车比原先的车型短了约40毫米。