Definitions for before
bɪˈfɔr, -ˈfoʊrbe·fore

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. earlier, before(adverb)

   earlier in time; previously

   "I had known her before"; "as I said before"; "he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier"; "her parents had died four years earlier"; "I mentioned that problem earlier"

2. ahead, in front, before(adverb)

   at or in the front

   "I see the lights of a town ahead"; "the road ahead is foggy"; "staring straight ahead"; "we couldn't see over the heads of the people in front"; "with the cross of Jesus marching on before"

Wiktionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. before(Adverb)

   at an earlier time

   I've never done this before.

2. before(Adverb)

   in advance

3. before(Conjunction)

   in advance of the time when

4. before(Conjunction)

   rather or sooner than

5. before(Preposition)

   Earlier than (in time).

   I want this done before Monday.

6. before(Preposition)

   In front of in space.

   He stood before me.

7. before(Preposition)

   Under consideration, judgment, authority of (someone).

   The case laid before the panel aroused nothing but ridicule.

8. before(Preposition)

   In store for, in the future of (someone).

   The period before us looks grim because of the economical crisis.

9. before(Preposition)

   In front of, according to a formal system of ordering items.

   In alphabetical order, "cat" comes before "dog", "canine" before feline".

10. before(Preposition)

    At a higher or greater position in a subjective ranking.

    An entrepreneur puts market share and profit before quality, an amateur intrinsic qualities before economical considerations.

Origin: From (adverb and preposition), from beforan, itself from be- + foran 'before' (from fore)

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Before

   in front of; preceding in space; ahead of; as, to stand before the fire; before the house

2. Before

   preceding in time; earlier than; previously to; anterior to the time when; -- sometimes with the additional idea of purpose; in order that

3. Before

   an advance of; farther onward, in place or time

4. Before

   prior or preceding in dignity, order, rank, right, or worth; rather than

5. Before

   in presence or sight of; face to face with; facing

6. Before

   under the cognizance or jurisdiction of

7. Before

   open for; free of access to; in the power of

8. Before(adverb)

   on the fore part; in front, or in the direction of the front; -- opposed to in the rear

9. Before(adverb)

   in advance

10. Before(adverb)

    in time past; previously; already

11. Before(adverb)

    earlier; sooner than; until then

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Before

   "Before" is a single by UK electronic music group Pet Shop Boys released as the first single from the group's 1996 album Bilingual. The single, upon its release, peaked at #7 on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it reached #1 on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play and reached #7 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, equalling #107 on the main U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Before

   be-fōr′, prep. in front of (time or place): in presence or sight of (Before God): under the cognisance of, as in before the court, the magistrate, or the house: previous to: in preference to: superior to.—adv. in front: sooner than hitherto.—conj. previous to the time when (often with that).—advs. Before′hand, before the time: by way of preparation; Before′time, in former time.—To be beforehand with, to forestall in any action. [A.S. beforan. See Fore.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'before' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #180

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'before' in Written Corpus Frequency: #312

3. Adverbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'before' in Adverbs Frequency: #82

How to say before in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of before in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of before in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of before in a Sentence

1. Aesop:

   Look before you leap.

2. Minh Quang Pham:

   I have read it before.

3. George W. Bush, On TV, about his passing out eating a pretzel:

   Chew before you swallow.

4. Fox News:

   Read It Before You Eat It.

5. Graffito:

   Is there life before death

Images & Illustrations of before

Popularity rank by frequency of use