Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

ere

preposition
\ ˈer \

Definition of ere

 (Entry 1 of 2)

old-fashioned + literary
: preceding in time : earlier than : before entry 2 sense 2 ere nightfall 'The wind is north from the snows,' said Aragorn. 'And ere morning it will be in the East,' said Legolas.— J. R. R. Tolkien

ere

conjunction

Definition of ere (Entry 2 of 2)

old-fashioned + literary
: before entry 3 "Rumor has it that there will be a wedding in our village ere the daisies are in bloom. … "— Lucy Maud Montgomery I was scarcely in position ere my enemies began to arrive …— Robert Louis Stevenson
Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about ere

Keep scrolling for more

Synonyms & Antonyms for ere

Synonyms: Preposition

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

Antonyms: Preposition

after, following

Visit the Thesaurus for More 

Examples of ere in a Sentence

Preposition

 an old typewriter that was a relic of that ancient time ere the invention of word processors

First Known Use of ere

Preposition

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Conjunction

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for ere

Preposition

Middle English er, from Old English ǣr, from ǣr, adverb, early, soon; akin to Old High German ēr earlier, Greek ēri early

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about ere

Dictionary Entries near ere

Erdos

erd shrew

erdvark

ere

e-reader

ereb

Erebus

Statistics for ere

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for ere

The first known use of ere was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for ere

ere

preposition
\ ˈer \

Kids Definition of ere

 (Entry 1 of 2)

: before entry 2 sense 2 “… we shall hear more of them ere long.”— Robert Louis Stevenson, Kidnapped

ere

conjunction

Kids Definition of ere (Entry 2 of 2)

: before entry 3 sense 4 … here he muses for a time … ere he departs.— Jack London, The Call of the Wild

Keep scrolling for more

More from Merriam-Webster on ere

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with ere

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ere

Spanish Central: Translation of ere

Nglish: Translation of ere for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of ere for Arabic Speakers

Comments on ere

What made you want to look up ere? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

teetotaler

someone who never drinks alcohol

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Homophone Quiz

  • three-bears-two-of-them-look-like-theyre-whispering-to-a-third-bear-who-looks-chuffed-to-be-the-center-of-attention
  • In order to judge how people felt, the senator's office hired a firm to take a ______.
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

TRENDING NOW

  1. cache BuzzFeed reports on Trump-Cohen documents.

  2. intransigence, intransigent Trump cancels Davos trip.

  3. white supremacist Steve King discusses views.

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games