Legal precedent refers to a decision made by a higher court that sets the standard for future similar cases. In the legal world, there are a few synonyms that are often used in place of legal precedent. One of these is the concept of stare decisis, which means "let the decision stand." This essentially means that a court should stick to established legal precedents when making future decisions. Another synonym is legal authority, which refers to the power and influence that a particular legal precedent can have in shaping future legal decisions. Finally, the term binding precedent is also used to describe a legal precedent that must be followed by lower courts.