before

Meanings

Plural: befores

Adverb

• earlier in time; previously
  • "I had known her before"
  • "as I said before"
  • "he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier"
• at or in the front
  • "with the cross of Jesus marching on before"

Prep

• Earlier than (in time).
• In front of in space.
• In the presence of.
• Under consideration, judgment, authority of (someone).
• In store for, in the future of (someone).
• In front of, according to a formal system of ordering items.
• At a higher or greater position than, in a ranking.

Adv

• At an earlier time.
• In advance in position or sequence; ahead.
• At the front end.

Conj

• In advance of the time when.
• Rather or sooner than.

Noun

• Of before-and-after images: the one that shows the difference before a specified treatment.
• That which occurred or existed previously.
• A previous form or instance.

Synonyms

ahead, ahead of, by, earlier, ere, in front, in front of, lest, no later than, previous to, previously, prior to

Antonyms

after, behind, later than

Anagrams of before