See Also:

before (iou)



before adverb, preposition, & conjunction.
[Old English beforan = Old Frisian befora, Old Saxon biforan, Old High German bifora (German bevor), from Germanic: see BY adverb & preposition, FORE adverb & preposition.]
A. adverb.
In front in place or order; ahead, at or on the front. OE.
Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream I am sent with broom before, To sweep the dust behind the door. Macb. Had he his hurts before?..Ay, on the front. S. Baring-Gould Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war, With the Cross of Jesus Going on before.
Earlier in time; previously, beforehand, in the past. ME.
have been THERE before. have seen it all before: see SEE verb. the mixture as before: see MIXTURE 2.
Ld Macaulay Charles the First, eighteen years before, withdrew from his capital. Arnold Bennett He had never spoken to Tom Orgreave before. C. Causley He felt younger than he had for some time before. D. Bogarde He would come back one day and it would all be as before.
b. spec. Contrasted with after (see AFTER adverb 2b): preceding an event or (esp.) the use of a remedy, cosmetic, or other product. M18.
Puck A 'before and after' racket for a hair-renewer advertisement.
b. preposition.
I. Of motion or position.
Of motion: ahead of, in advance of. OE.
Ld Macaulay Behind him march the halbardiers; before him sound the drums.
b. Driven in front of, under the impulse of. M16.
Shakespeare 2 Henry VI Our enemies shall fall before us. A. Sillitoe Running before the wrath of cop or farmer. A. J. P. Taylor The anti-waste campaign..swept all before it.
Of position or direction: in front of. OE.
Tennyson Once more before my face I see the moulder'd Abbey-walls. T. S. Eliot Each man fixed his eyes before his feet. A. Sillitoe Emerging to scrub himself dry..before the fire. M. Bragg His back to the fells, before him the plain and the sea.
In the sight or presence of; under the notice of. OE.
Steele As ill an Action as any that comes before the Magistrate. J. M. Barrie Is it to be before the ladies, Mr. Ernest, or in the privacy of the wood? Tolkien The song of Luthien before Mandos was the song most fair that ever in words was woven.
In the view or opinion of. arch. OE.
P. Stubbes Though this be not theft before the world.
Open to the knowledge of; claiming the attention of. LME.
H. T. Buckle The accusations..are before the world. T. Hardy Such was the argument that Oak set outwardly before him.
In prospect for, open to; awaiting. (Merging with branch II, of time.) LME.
Milton The World was all before them, where to choose, Their place of rest. B. Webb Sidney and I have plenty of work before usSidney in the Labour Party and I on Government Committees.
II. Of time.
Preceding in order of time. OE.
Byron Brave men were living before Agamemnon. J. D. Watson With luck, Francis's coiled coils would get into print as soon as if not before Pauling's.
Previous to, earlier than (an event, point of time, etc.). ME.
S. Johnson It was written before the Conquest of Granada. A. J. P. Taylor Singapore had been neglected before the war and still more during it.
b. Earlier than the end of (a future period of time). M19.
A. Trollope This grief..may be cured some day before long.
III. Of order or rank.
In advance of in development; further on than. ME.
Hobbes Atrides is before you in command. Ld Macaulay The nation which was so far before its neighbours in science.
In preference to, rather than. ME.
Bible (AV): 2 Samuel 6:21 The Lord..chose me before thy father, & before all his house. D. H. Lawrence I was a good animal before everything.
In comparison with. E18.
Addison The Women were of such an enormous Stature, that we appeared as Grashoppers before them.
Phrases: before Christ (of a date) reckoned backwards from the birth of Jesus. before God as God sees me (usu. as solemn asseveration). before one's time: see TIME noun. before the beam: see BEAM noun. before the mast: see MAST noun1 1. before the secular worlds: see SECULAR adjective 5. before the wind helped or driven on by the force of the wind. leg before wicket: see LEG noun. not before time: see TIME noun. walk before one can run: see WALK verb1.
C. conjunction.
Previous to the time when. Also (arch.) before that. ME.
Bible (AV): King John 1:48 Before that Philip called thee..I saw thee. E. Hemingway I woke for good long before it was light. D. Lodge His hair is the texture and colour of Brillo pads before they've been used.
Of preference: sooner than that, rather than that. L16.
Shakespeare Merchant of Venice Treble that, Before a friend..Shall lose a hair through Bassanio's fault. Oxford English Dictionary I will die before I submit.