What does before mean?
Definitions for before
bɪˈfɔr, -ˈfoʊrbe·fore
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word before.
Princeton's WordNet
earlier, beforeadverb
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"
ahead, in front, beforeadverb
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
beforeadverb
at an earlier time
I've never done this before.
beforeadverb
in advance
beforeconjunction
in advance of the time when
beforeconjunction
rather or sooner than
beforepreposition
Earlier than (in time).
I want this done before Monday.
beforepreposition
In front of in space.
He stood before me.
beforepreposition
Under consideration, judgment, authority of (someone).
The case laid before the panel aroused nothing but ridicule.
beforepreposition
In store for, in the future of (someone).
The period before us looks grim because of the economical crisis.
beforepreposition
In front of, according to a formal system of ordering items.
In alphabetical order, "cat" comes before "dog", "canine" before feline".
beforepreposition
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.
Etymology: From (adverb and preposition), from beforan, itself from be- + foran 'before' (from fore)
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Beforeadverb
Heav’nly born,
Before the hills appear’d, or fountain flow’d,
Thou with eternal wisdom didst converse. Par. Lost, b. vii.Before two months their orb with light adorn,
If heav’n allow me life, I will return. John Dryden, Fables.Such a plenteous crop they bore
Of purest and well winnow’d grain,
As Britain never knew before. Dryden.I shall resume somewhat which hath been before said, touching the question beforegoing. Matthew Hale, Origin of Mankind.
Before this elaborate treatise can become of use to my country, two points are necessary. Jonathan Swift.
The peaceful cities of th’ Ausonian shore,
Lull’d in their ease, and undisturb’d before,
Are all on fire. John Dryden, Æneid.You tell me, mother, what I knew before,
The Phrygian fleet is landed on the shore. John Dryden, Æneid.Thou’rt so far before,
The swiftest wing of recompence is slow
To overtake. William Shakespeare.Beforeprep.
Etymology: biforan, Sax.
Their common practice was to look no further before them than the next line; whence it will follow, that they can drive to no certain point. Dryden.
Who shall go
Before them in a cloud, and pillar of fire:
By day a cloud, by night a pillar of fire,
To guide them in their journey, and remove
Behind them, while th’ obdurate king pursues. Par. Lost.Great queen of gathering clouds,
See, we fall before thee!
Prostrate we adore thee! John Dryden, Albion.The Alps and Pyreneans sink before him. Joseph Addison, Cato.
We see that blushing, and the casting down of the eyes both, are more when we come before many. Francis Bacon.
They represent our poet betwixt a farmer and a courtier, when he drest himself in his best habit, to appear before his patron. John Dryden, Virgil, Dedication.
Before the eyes of both our armies here,
Let us not wrangle. William Shakespeare, Julius Cæsar.If a suit be begun before an archdeacon, the ordinary may license the suit to an higher court. John Ayliffe, Parergon.
Give us this evening; thou hast morn and night,
And all the year before thee, for delight. Dryden.He hath put us in the hands of our own counsel. Life and death, prosperity and destruction, are before us. John Tillotson.
Her part, poor soul! seeming as burdened
With lesser weight, but not with lesser woe,
Was carried with more speed before the wind. William Shakespeare, Com. of Err.Hurried by fate, he cries, and born before
A furious wind, we leave the faithful shore. Dryden.Particular advantages it has before all the books which have appeared before it in this kind. John Dryden, Dufresnoy.
We should but presume to determine which should be the fittest, till we see he hath chosen some one, which one we may then boldly say to be the fittest, because he hath taken it before the rest. Richard Hooker, b. iii.
We think poverty to be infinitely desirable before the torments of covetousness. Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living.
ChatGPT
before
Before refers to a time, event, or circumstance that precedes another specific time, event, or circumstance. It denotes something that happens or occurs prior or in advance of something else. It can also refer to a spatial position that is in front of or prior to another object or location.
Webster Dictionary
Before
in front of; preceding in space; ahead of; as, to stand before the fire; before the house
Before
preceding in time; earlier than; previously to; anterior to the time when; -- sometimes with the additional idea of purpose; in order that
Before
an advance of; farther onward, in place or time
Before
prior or preceding in dignity, order, rank, right, or worth; rather than
Before
in presence or sight of; face to face with; facing
Before
under the cognizance or jurisdiction of
Before
open for; free of access to; in the power of
Beforeadverb
on the fore part; in front, or in the direction of the front; -- opposed to in the rear
Beforeadverb
in advance
Beforeadverb
in time past; previously; already
Beforeadverb
earlier; sooner than; until then
Wikidata
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
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
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'before' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #180
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'before' in Written Corpus Frequency: #312
Adverbs Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'before' in Adverbs Frequency: #82
Usage in printed sourcesFrom:
- 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Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of before in Chaldean Numerology is: 2
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of before in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Examples of before in a Sentence
It’s one of those times where a movie becomes a touchstone in culture, it just becomes part of the zeitgeist and one of those movies you just have to see. That’s due to its uniqueness. People have never seen anything like this before.
We’ve found that it can take up to 10 times for a child to try a new food before they like it, continuing to try and expose young children to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is an important piece.
The president has been bringing members down and talking to members and closing the deal, this is so encouraging—we’ve never seen this kind of presidential engagement with our members before—President Trump and Vice President Pence are rolling up their sleeves.
We should come out well before the next election.
I had to think back to when I was a starter and try to get that routine back in before the game, it was a little difficult thinking about all that.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for before
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- قبل, أمامArabic
- преди да, пред, предварително, предиBulgarian
- rak, ragBreton
- davant, abansCatalan, Valencian
- předCzech
- forud, før, inden, tidligere, foran, hellereDanish
- vor, eher, zuvor, bevor, vorn, im Voraus, vorneGerman
- μπροστά σε, πριν, μπροστά απόGreek
- antaŭe, antaŭEsperanto
- ante, antes que, antes de, antesSpanish
- پیش از, قبلPersian
- aikaisemmin, edessä, ennen, aiemminFinnish
- áður, fyrrFaroese
- avant, avant que, devantFrench
- foarWestern Frisian
- roimheScottish Gaelic
- לפניHebrew
- पहले, से पहलेHindi
- előttHungarian
- առջև, առաջ, առջևումArmenian
- anteInterlingua
- sebelumIndonesian
- áður, fyrrIcelandic
- innanzi, prima, davantiItalian
- 前Japanese
- پێش, لهمهوپێش, berîKurdish
- ante, prae, prōLatin
- muaMāori
- sebelumMalay
- quddiem, qabelMaltese
- foranNorwegian
- vóór, eerder dan, alvorens, op voorhand, vroeger, vooraf, voordat, voordien, voorheen, vooraleer, eerderDutch
- framanfor, føreNorwegian Nynorsk
- førNorwegian
- przedPolish
- na frente de, [[antes]] [[de]], primeiro, diante de, em frente a, ante, antesPortuguese
- avantRomansh
- înainte, dinainteRomanian
- до, раньше, заранее, прежде, передRussian
- pred, prijeSerbo-Croatian
- predSlovene
- paraAlbanian
- hellre, framför, innan, före, förr, förut, förrän, inför, tidigareSwedish
- awaliSwahili
- ముందు, ఎదర, ముందుగాలTelugu
- เมื่อก่อนThai
- önceTurkish
- ранішеUkrainian
- پہلےUrdu
- trước đây, đằng trước, trướcVietnamese
- divant, divant kiWalloon
- 之前Chinese
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