before
Use Before in a sentence
preposition
1.
previous to; earlier or sooner than: Phone me before noon.
2.
in front of; ahead of; in advance of: his shadow advancing before him; She stood before the window.
3.
ahead of; in the future of; awaiting: The golden age is before us.
4.
in preference to; rather than: They would die before surrendering.
5.
in precedence of, as in order or rank: We put freedom before wealth.
6.
in the presence or sight of: to appear before an audience.
7.
less than; until: used in indicating the exact time: It's ten before three.
8.
under the jurisdiction or consideration of: He was summoned before a magistrate.
9.
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.
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.
00:10
Before
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
conjunction
16.
previous to the time when: Send the telegram before we go.
17.
sooner than; rather than: I will die before I submit.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To before
Collins
World English Dictionary
before (bɪˈfɔː) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —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
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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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).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
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