before

adverb or adjective

Save Word

be·fore | \ bi-ˈfȯr

, bē- \

Definition of before

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : in advance : ahead marching on before

2 : at an earlier time the night before knew her before

before

preposition

Definition of before (Entry 2 of 3)

1a(1) : forward of : in front of stood before the fire

(2) : in the presence of speaking before the conference

b : under the jurisdiction or consideration of the case before the court

c(1) : at the disposal of the great sums placed before him

(2) : in store for got the whole summer before you

2 : preceding in time : earlier than just before noon

3 : in a higher or more important position than put quantity before quality

before

conjunction

Definition of before (Entry 3 of 3)

1a(1) : earlier than the time that call me before you go

(2) : sooner or quicker than I'll be done before you know it

(3) : so that … do not get out of there before you get dirty

b : until the time that miles to go before I sleep— Robert Frost

c(1) : or else … not must be convicted before he can be removed from office

(2) : or else get out of here before I call a cop

2 : rather or sooner than would starve before he'd steal

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about before

Keep scrolling for more

Synonyms & Antonyms for before

Synonyms: Adverb or adjective

Synonyms: Preposition

afore
[chiefly dialect],
ahead of,
ere,
fore
(also 'fore)
[chiefly dialect],
of,
previous to,
prior to,
to

Antonyms: Adverb or adjective

Antonyms: Preposition

after,
following

Examples of before in a Sentence

Preposition We arrived shortly before six o'clock. He left just before sunrise. I've never seen her so happy before now. Call me before your arrival. She arrived the day before yesterday. Why haven't you ever helped me before now? Your name is listed before mine. You'll see my house just before the bank and after the school. The Great Plains stretched endlessly before them. The championship fight took place before a crowd of thousands. Conjunction He left long before morning came. Say goodbye before you go. Call me before you arrive. I finished the exam before he did. It was not long before he arrived.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb or adjective While sometimes dry and methodical, the presentation reached an emotional climax when California Rep. Eric Swalwell showed graphic video, much of it not seen before. — David Bauder, Chron, "Fox abruptly cuts off impeachment manager during testimony," 10 Feb. 2021 More video is expected Wednesday, including some that hasn’t been seen before. — Eric Tucker, BostonGlobe.com, "Prosecutors call Trump ‘inciter in chief’ in opening impeachment arguments," 10 Feb. 2021 The party has seen this before, uncomfortably recently. — Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic, "The Ascension of Marjorie Taylor Greene," 3 Feb. 2021 But there was also another glass ceiling breaker before, albeit on an acting basis. — Jamie Mcintyre, Washington Examiner, "Blinken: As US offers conditional return to nuclear deal, Iran could soon be weeks away from having material for nuclear bomb," 2 Feb. 2021 The pandemic has created conditions unlike anything mental health professionals have seen before, making causation that much more difficult to determine. — New York Times, "surge of student suicides," 25 Jan. 2021 There’s hope, experts say, that markets could be the push farmers need to take up regenerative practices such as not tilling the soil, using cover crops or applying rotational grazing at a scale and speed not before seen. — IndyStar, "There is a lot of money on the table with carbon markets. But farmers are skeptical.," 18 Jan. 2021 The bright dot, astronomers concluded, was something never before seen. — Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, "Have We Already Been Visited by Aliens?," 18 Jan. 2021 Freshman defenseman Mike Koster said the Gophers hadn't seen a forecheck like Wisconsin's before but learned how to handle it. — Star Tribune, "Series preview: Gophers men's hockey vs. Notre Dame," 14 Jan. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Preposition During one possession in the final minute, the Lions threw away the ball just before the shot clock ran down while struggling to handle Southern’s traps. — I.c. Murrell, Arkansas Online, "UAPB’s bid to end losing streak goes south quickly against Southern University," 14 Feb. 2021 As part of their friendship-turned-courtship, the two show each other films, many shot before they were born. — Helen Shaw, Vulture, "To All The Boys: Always and Forever Burns Low and Slow," 13 Feb. 2021 This may deter teams from becoming sellers before the March 25 deadline. — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, "The only thing stopping Kevin Durant is the NBA’s confusing protocol rules," 13 Feb. 2021 The Predators had lost three in a row before beating the Wings. — Tyler J. Davis, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Red Wings game vs. Nashville Predators: Time, TV, more info," 13 Feb. 2021 There are team trials races for next season coming up before winter ends in the U.S., but Sunday marks the end of the major international racing slate for the Americans. — Tim Reynolds, ajc, "Humphries in contention midway through monobob title race," 13 Feb. 2021 In 2018, after working on ye in Wyoming, Shaw contacted West’s assistants to see the lyrics before production. — Jonathan Gharraie, The Atlantic, "Can Caroline Shaw Make Classical Cool?," 13 Feb. 2021 My parents stayed in Thailand for a year before they were transferred to the Galang Refugee Camp in Indonesia. — Lisa Tran, Bon Appétit, "Our Restaurant’s Name Means ‘New Beginnings.’ That’s Never Felt More True.," 12 Feb. 2021 And those numbers emerged just two weeks after the state’s attorney general found that numbers released before the end of January were also underreported. — Michael Ruiz, Fox News, "Cuomo aide tells NY Democrats administration hid nursing home data to keep it from Trump DOJ: Report," 12 Feb. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'before.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.