# before

Pronunciation: US say "bee-FOR" /bɪˈfɔɹ/; UK say "bee-FAW" /bɪˈfɔː/

## Preposition

1. Earlier in time than; the opposite of 'after'.
   - Simple: Earlier than a time or event, as in 'before Monday'.
   - _The bridge was built before the war._
   - _Call me before noon if you can._
4. In front of, in space; now formal or literary.
   - Simple: In front of, in a formal style, as in 'he stood before me'.
   - _A wide lawn lay before the house._
   - _The road stretched before them._
5. In the presence of; facing an audience or witness.
   - Simple: In the presence of a person or group, as in 'speak before Congress'.
   - _The oath is sworn before a judge._
   - _The couple exchanged vows before their families and a few close friends._
6. Under the consideration, judgment, or authority of.
   - Simple: Being judged or decided by, as in 'the case before the court'.
   - _The bill comes before Parliament next week._
   - _He was brought before the magistrate._
8. Ranked higher than in importance or preference.
   - Simple: More important than, as in 'safety before speed'.
   - _Duty before pleasure was his motto._
   - _She has always put her children's needs before her own, even when money was tight._
9. Earlier in a sequence or ordered list, such as alphabetical order or the order of words in a sentence.
   - Simple: Earlier in a list or order, as in 'cat comes before dog'.
   - _The adjective goes before the noun in English._
   - _In the class list, Garcia comes before Gupta because the names are sorted alphabetically._
10. In store for; in the future of.
   - Simple: Still to come in someone's future, as in 'your life is before you'.
   - _The hardest part of the climb was still before us._
   - _With the exams before her, she stopped going out._

## Conjunction

2. Earlier than the time when; in advance of the moment at which something happens.
   - Simple: Earlier than the time when something happens, as in 'before you go'.
   - _Lock up before you leave._
   - _It was years before anyone noticed._
11. Rather or sooner than, used to express a refusal. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Rather than, in casual speech, as in 'I'd die before I'd tell'.
   - _He'd walk ten miles before he'd take a taxi._
   - _I'd sell the car before I'd sell the piano._

## Adverb

3. At an earlier time; previously.
   - Simple: At an earlier time, as in 'I've never done this before'.
   - _The house looks better than before._
   - _As I said before, the answer is no._
13. In front or ahead, in position or in order of going (a herald went before). *(literary)*
   - Simple: In front or ahead of others.
   - _A herald went before to announce the king._
   - _The dog ran on before, and the rest of us followed slowly._

## Noun

7. The earlier state or version of something, especially the picture taken before a change in a before-and-after pair.
   - Simple: How something looked or was before a change, especially in before-and-after pictures.
   - _Every diet advert needs a convincing before._
   - _Put the before beside the after, and you can hardly believe it's the same kitchen._

## Noun

12. What occurred or existed previously; the past. *(rare)*
   - Simple: The past, as a noun, in poetry, as in 'all the befores'.

## Origin

Inherited from Middle English before, from Old English beforan (be- plus foran, 'before'), ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root *per- meaning 'front'. It is related to German bevor and Saterland Frisian befoar.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/before (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).