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Before

[bih-fawr, -fohr]

Example Sentences Origin

preposition

previous to; earlier or sooner than: Phone me before noon.

in front of; ahead of; in advance of: his shadow advancing before him; She stood before the window.

ahead of; in the future of; awaiting: The golden age is before us.

in preference to; rather than: They would die before surrendering.

in precedence of, as in order or rank: We put freedom before wealth.

EXPAND

in the presence or sight of: to appear before an audience.

less than; until: used in indicating the exact time: It's ten before three.

under the jurisdiction or consideration of: He was summoned before a magistrate.

confronted by; in the face of: Before such wild accusations, he was too stunned to reply.

10.

in the regard of: a crime before God and humanity.

11.

under the overwhelming influence of: bending before the storm.

12.

without figuring or deducting: income before deductions.

COLLAPSE

adverb

13.

in front; in advance; ahead: The king entered with macebearers walking before.

14.

in time preceding; previously: If we'd known before, we'd have let you know.

15.

earlier or sooner: Begin at noon, not before.

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Before is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.

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conjunction

16.

previous to the time when: Send the telegram before we go.

17.

sooner than; rather than: I will die before I submit.

Origin:
before 1000; Middle English beforen, Old English beforan, equivalent to be by + foran before (fore fore¹ + -an adv. suffix)

Antonyms
13. after, behind. 14. afterward. 15. later.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Before

Example Sentences

It's long been advised that people who get nighttime heartburn eat no later than three to four hours before bed.

We plan to pick him up at the airport the day before the first talk.

But thanks to incompetence and corruption, vast shipments of food rotted before reaching the shops.

EXPAND

It's long been advised that people who get nighttime heartburn eat no later than three to four hours before bed.

We plan to pick him up at the airport the day before the first talk.

But thanks to incompetence and corruption, vast shipments of food rotted before reaching the shops.

We may be able to get a glimpse of what happened before the big bang, thanks to a new study-but only a glimpse.

Subjects in the study drank strong, weak or alcohol-free beverages an hour-and-40-minutes before going to bed.

Before they went on the air, both candidates refused the services of a cosmetician.

See photos before and after the transformation here.

Babies also flex their mental muscles months before birth.

Most of those materials were in the public domain before.

Yet for the best of author's knowledge, male organ has not been touched in the growth literature before.

Modern birds originated a hundred million years ago-long before the demise of dinosaurs, according to new research.

Even before they've hatched, red-eyed tree frogs have a nose for danger.

Before computers, this experimental section helped engineers model the effects of compression on the finished bridge's cables.

Sometimes you have to go backward before you can clearly see how to move forward.

Imagine knowing you'll be too sick to go to work, before the faintest hint of a runny nose or a sore throat.

Make a list of the people you have met before and want to see again.

Before the end of summer, subscribers will be offered a mobile-phone service that works anywhere in the world.

It was minutes before launch and my first trip into space.

Before you begin criticizing, you might actually attempt to understand what evolution is and how it works.

We could talk to friends and families with a telephone and get stock prices by calling a broker before e-mail was invented.

Remove the onions from the liquid and briefly grill them with the brats before serving.

Six seconds before liftoff, the three main engines roared to life.

If that happens, the fuel will have to be completely removed and reprocessed before it can be used again.

In the instant before he dies, the man strains to lift himself from the ground with one elbow.

The solar system's smallest and innermost planet has come into greater focus than ever before.

The rapidly spreading disease affects more people than ever before.

Second, some bacteria produce enzymes that can destroy antibiotics before they can work.

Long before you're consciously aware of making a decision, your mind has already made it.

It's a hot summer day a few weeks before the start of the season.

Knowing how to count lets kindergartners do arithmetic before they learn its rules.

No matter what the reason, before you can use a blank hard drive, you'll need to format it first.

Never before had a large, populated expanse of private land been converted into a national park.

Before wrinkles appear on this hand, compare the traction on different smooth surfaces.

The two new elements are radioactive and only exist for less than a second before decaying into lighter atoms.

Thawing permafrost may soak up greenhouse gas before it begins to spew it out.

But before flinging contact info around, you'll want to create a core set of groups to get you started.

It subsides and flares up, often before bed or when changing clothes.

Twelve of their subjects had never before played the game.

It took many other experimental results before special relativity gained ground.

New research suggests that a syrup-flavored ice slurry before a workout in hot conditions can improve endurance.

Compare photographs of moon-landing bases taken before and after the astronauts landed.

Earthquake detection systems can sound the alarm in the moments before a big tremor strikes-time enough.

As the field of prefabricated homes grows, you need to do your legwork before making a purchase.

I've heard of people getting tenure before promotion, but never promotion before tenure.

The law applies even if a trial started before the office-holder was elected.

Pancreatic tumors can germinate for a decade before turning deadly, raising hopes for early detection.

Again, he must act against his nature and learn patience before inserting damp garments into the cylinder.

The naughties were a bad time, even before the recession.

In some places stem rust may become endemic before the outside world even spots.

As the human brain evolved, humans were able to laugh before they could speak, according to a new study.

Parents need better information, ideally before a baby is born.

Before contacting us, check to see if you can locate your answer.

Scientists experiment on animals before giving their new drug to patients.

Young women are pledging to shed a lot of weight before their trips to the beaches.

Able to make accurate presentations of complex information in a logical and straightforward manner before a general audience.

King once said of the ballpark, where he used to perform before games.

Colonies of a bizarre microbial goo have been found practicing agriculture at a scale tinier than any seen before.

Laws in several states require motorists to clean ice and snow off all exposed surfaces of vehicles before they start rolling.

I'd flown in the night before to attend my cousin's funeral and intended to fly back to.

Very possibly no one had ever glimpsed those trees or bays before.

In a stunning display of amphibian machismo, tree frogs boogie before they brawl in this unprecedented video.

The first thing she found is that young people today write far more than any generation before them.

Don't submit anything for the rest of graduate school or only immediately before hitting the market.

Both sides must keep talking, before the warning lights turn red.

Many of his clients have sought professional help before contacting him but were unsuccessful in solving their pooches' problems.

Researchers have proved results about the incomputability of specific physical systems before.

The chair was at fault for allowing the visitor to vote, putting congeniality before shared governance.

Simulations point to an asteroid collision that sealed the dinosaurs' fate before their reign was half over.

Space orders are due on or before closing date and may not be canceled by the advertiser after that date.

We arrived before the resurgence of immigration that.

The sequencing reveals a virus that began its life in an animal, then mutated before picking up the power to infect people.

Rarely does anyone weigh facts before deciding what to believe.

Scientists are racing to save many of these species before they vanish forever.

Scientists try to clean up nanotechnology before it becomes a big business--and a big problem.

They do this at traffic light crossings, waiting patiently with human pedestrians for a red light before retrieving their prize.

One of the best ways to physically prepare for a trek is to climb stairs before you leave home.

Researchers find blood markers of incurable neurological disorder years before symptoms appear.

Have students simulate cleanup efforts before the use of dispersant.

Mercury has never been orbited by a spacecraft before.

Water must be boiled or treated with iodine before it is safe to drink.

Still a last step before death for thousands of people, shock is shedding some of its medical mystery and becoming more treatable.

Panic attacks seem to come out of nowhere, but research finds symptoms appear up to one hour before the sufferer is.

Typically she would feel nauseated before an oncoming seizure, then lose consciousness.

Babies understand counting before they utter numbers.

Both groups also recognized words they had seen before with equal ease.

They key, they say, is to find and destroy the viruses before they turn cancerous.

Please look at more evidence than is contained in this summary article before drawing a conclusion.

The team had gone through this exercise many times before.

One way advertisers convince us to buy something is to remind us that we've enjoyed their product before.

Surely the time to test them is before they are needed for real.

So engineers are turning to sophisticated simulation software to design and test ideas long before they build engine prototypes.

The plane was off course before it slammed into the mountain.

Surprisingly, about half of the bereaved spouses experienced no significant depression either before or after the loss.

Earthquake detection systems can sound the alarm in the moments before a big tremor strikes.

Before the remodel, the outdoor space in back was virtually ignored.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

before (bɪˈfɔː)

—*conj*
1.	earlier than the time when
2.	rather than: he'll resign before he agrees to it

—*prep*
3.	preceding in space or time; in front of; ahead of: standing before the altar
4.	when confronted by: to withdraw before one's enemies
5.	in the presence of: to be brought before a judge
6.	in preference to: to put friendship before money

—*adv*
7.	at an earlier time; previously; beforehand; in front

[Old English beforan; related to Old Frisian befara, Old High German bifora]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

before

O.E. beforan "before, in front of, in the presence of, in former times," from P.Gmc. *bi- "by" + *forana "from the front," adverbial derivative of *fora (see for). Contrasting before and after in illustrations is from Hogarth (1768).

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

before

In addition to the idioms beginning with before, also see cart before the horse; cast pearls before swine; look before you leap.

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Idioms & Phrases

before

cart before the horse

cast pearls before swine

look before you leap

Matching Quote

"Martha, your father told me something once, a long time ago, when I first started to work with him: In the war of science, many people must die before any victory can be won."

-Robert D. Andrews

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Before

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