Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ to describe something that happened or existed after the time or event that has just been referred to. (FORMAL)
...the increase of population in ~ years...
Those concerns were overshadowed by ~ events.
? previous
ADJ: ADJ n
~ly
She ~ly became the Faculty’s President...
ADV
2.
If something happened ~ to something else, it happened after that thing. (FORMAL)
They won only one more game ~ to their Cup semi-final win last year.
? prior to
PHRASE: PHR n/-ing