before

1 of 3

adverb or adjective

be·​fore bi-ˈfȯr 

bē-

1

: in advance : ahead

marching on before

2

: at an earlier time

the night before

knew her before

before

2 of 3

preposition

1

a(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

3 of 3

conjunction

1

a(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

Adverb or adjective

• afore [chiefly dialect]
• ahead
• already
• antecedently
• anteriorly
• beforehand
• earlier
• formerly
• preliminarily
• previously

Preposition

• afore [chiefly dialect]
• ahead of
• ere
• fore [chiefly dialect]
• 'fore
• of
• previous to
• prior to
• to

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

Part of the attraction of observing the weather may lie in the extent to which each day is unique, with features, large or small, that distinguish it from those that came before. —Martin Weil, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024

From February to March, though, hourly pay did rise 0.3% after increasing 0.2% the month before. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 6 Apr. 2024

Viewers watched as Carmichael kissed a stranger in his apartment despite revealing strong feelings for his partner just moments before. —Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2024

Jupiter will also appear 30 degrees to the east-northeast of the sun during totality, or perhaps a few minutes before. —Mallory Moench, TIME, 6 Apr. 2024

Three sounding rockets are set to lift off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia before, during and after the eclipse to measure the impact of the sun on Earth’s upper atmosphere, known as the ionosphere. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 6 Apr. 2024

There is more acknowledgment of the humanity of a model, something that was completely left behind before. —Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 5 Apr. 2024

Friday’s earthquake may come as a literal and metaphorical shock for East Coasters, but bigger ones have happened in the region before, like a 5.3 magnitude in 1884. —Matt Simon, WIRED, 5 Apr. 2024

The week before, an 80-year-old man died after driving the wrong way on Ronald Reagan Highway and crashing into another vehicle. —Max Filby, The Enquirer, 5 Apr. 2024

Preposition

Knowing this, state lawmakers made a one-time change to reduce the deadline from 90 days before the election to 60, Niven said. —Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 7 Apr. 2024

But the seeds for the agency were planted at 40/40, a full decade before its 2013 launch. —Abe Beame, Rolling Stone, 7 Apr. 2024

Trump's comments come before fundraiser The posts preceded, by a few hours, a Saturday night fundraiser in which the Trump campaign expected to pocket close to $50 million from a gathering in Palm Beach at the house of hedge fund guru John Paulson. —USA TODAY, 7 Apr. 2024

Those new voting restrictions would most likely have been halted under the VRA before the Shelby decision. —John Blake, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024

The mayday call gave officials enough time to stop traffic on both sides of the bridge and try to evacuate people before the collapse, Moore said. —Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024

Showers and thunderstorms are likely before 10 p.m., then a slight chance of showers between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39. —Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 26 Mar. 2024

The dispensary could generate nearly $206 million in gross sales revenues in its first year if limited only to medical patients, compared with $385 million if product is available to all adult users, according to figures released by Qualla Enterprises before last year’s adult-use referendum. —Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 26 Mar. 2024

Petersen also pointed out that the new contract expires just months before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. —John Antczak, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adverb or adjective

Middle English, adverb & preposition, from Old English beforan, from be- + foran before, from fore

Preposition

Middle English before, beforen, going back to Old English beforan — more at before entry 1

Conjunction

Middle English before, beforen, from before, beforen, before entry 2

First Known Use

Adverb Or Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Preposition

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Conjunction

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Phrases Containing before

• (and) not before time (too)
• before long
• before bed
• been/gone down this/that road before
• before one knows it
• before one can blink
• before the mast
• before one's time
• cast/throw pearls before swine
• carry all/everything before (one)
• bring before
• count one's chickens (before they hatch)
• count one's chickens before they're hatched
• go before
• look before one leaps
• put before
• die before one's time
• the calm/lull before the storm
• put the cart before the horse
• walk before one can run
• walk before one runs
• old before one's time
• the day before yesterday
• before someone's eyes
• before the hour
• before the wind

Kids Definition

before

1 of 3 adverb

be·​fore bi-ˈfō(ə)r 

-ˈfȯ(ə)r

1

: in advance : ahead

go on before

2

: at an earlier time

was here before

before

2 of 3 preposition

1

a

: forward of : in front of

stood before a mirror

b

: in the presence of

spoke before the legislature

2

: under the consideration of

the case before the court

3

: earlier than

got there before me

come before six

before

3 of 3 conjunction

1

: earlier than the time when

think before you speak

2

: more willingly than

I'd starve before I'd steal

Legal Definition

before

preposition

be·​fore

1

: in the presence of

then personally appeared before me

2

: to be judged or acted on by

a case before the court

a bill coming up before Congress