go before

phrasal verb

went before; gone before; going before; goes before

: to happen or exist at an earlier time than (someone)

We owe a great debt of gratitude to those who went before us.

: to be considered by (someone or something) for an official decision or judgment

The contestants will go before the judges tomorrow.

The case went before the court.

Examples of go before in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Court records do not currently list when the case will go before a judge. —

Quinlan Bentley, The Enquirer, 12 Apr. 2024 Similar to Brown, Newsom’s commutations go before the parole board before an inmate is released. —

Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2024 When the project went before the city’s planning commissioners last month, it still wasn’t perceived favorably. —

Shawn Raymundo, The Arizona Republic, 20 Mar. 2024 How far can the state go before a serious outbreak hits? —

Daniel Engber, The Atlantic, 22 Feb. 2024 The sale still has to go before city council for final approval but was already approved by the planning commission last August. —

The Enquirer, 18 Mar. 2024 Barnett was in town to testify in a deposition in his federal legal action against Boeing, with his case set to go before an administrative law judge later this year, according to his attorneys. —

Patrick Smith, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2024 Eight other QBs went before Purdy, an agile passer who’d started 46 straight games for Iowa State but stood 6-foot and had so-so arm strength. —

Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Feb. 2024 The appeal in Trump's civil fraud case will go before an intermediate-level court first. —

Jake Offenhartz, Quartz, 17 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'go before.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.