unprecedented

Everyday

1. Never happened or done before; the first of its kind. tree →
2. Much greater than ever before: unprecedented numbers. tree →

In the lessons

Common in news and the formal exam voice: «unprecedented rainfall», «an unprecedented number of visitors». In maths and science, an unprecedented value is higher (or lower) than every earlier record.

Examples

• The town had unprecedented flooding this spring. tree →
• The school saw an unprecedented number of entries for the art show. tree →
• The team's ten wins in a row were unprecedented. tree →
• Scientists recorded unprecedented heat in the city. tree →
• It was an unprecedented step for a child to speak at the meeting. tree →
• The book sold in unprecedented numbers. tree →

Note

Say un-PRESS-i-den-tid. Takes «an». A precedent is an earlier example; unprecedented = with no earlier example. News sometimes overuses it for things that are only rare.