Before
[bɪ'fɔː] or [bɪ'fɔr]
Definition
(prep.) In front of; preceding in space; ahead of; as, to stand before the fire; before the house.
(prep.) Preceding in time; earlier than; previously to; anterior to the time when; -- sometimes with the additional idea of purpose; in order that.
(prep.) An advance of; farther onward, in place or time.
(prep.) Prior or preceding in dignity, order, rank, right, or worth; rather than.
(prep.) In presence or sight of; face to face with; facing.
(prep.) Under the cognizance or jurisdiction of.
(prep.) Open for; free of access to; in the power of.
(adv.) On the fore part; in front, or in the direction of the front; -- opposed to in the rear.
(adv.) In advance.
(adv.) In time past; previously; already.
(adv.) Earlier; sooner than; until then.
Editor: Shanna
Synonyms and Synonymous
prep. [1]. Preceding.[2]. Prior to, previous to.[3]. In the presence of, face to face with.[4]. Near the front of, in front of.
ad. [1]. Toward the front.[2]. In advance, farther onward.[3]. Formerly, in time past, of old.[4]. Hitherto, up to that time.[5]. Above, in a former part.
Checker: Noelle
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Precedently, anteriorly, antecedently
ANT:After, afterwards, subsequently, posteriorly, later, behind
Inputed by Ezra
Definition
prep. in front of (time or place): in presence or sight of (Before God): under the cognisance of as in before the court the magistrate or the house: previous to: in preference to: superior to.—adv. in front: sooner than hitherto.—conj. previous to the time when (often with that).—advs. Before′hand before the time: by way of preparation; Before′time in former time.—To be beforehand with to forestall in any action.
Checker: Lorenzo
Examples
- I had never before seen Mr. Bruff pay her such devoted attention, and look at her with such marked respect. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- It has been done before. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- His labors, however, were interrupt ed by the death of his assistant Flemming, and by his own illness, which proved fatal in 1846, a few months before the actual discovery of Neptune. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- It was late in the day before the whole inscription was erased. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- His mother had died, years before. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Everything that arose before his mind drifted him on, faster and faster, more and more steadily, to the terrible attraction. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- He would have taken it before now, I believe, but for Fledgeby. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Some weeks of spare time were at my disposal, before I entered on my functions by establishing myself in the suburbs of London. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- How she had to work and thrum at these duets and sonatas in the Street, before they appeared in public in the Square! William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- But, mamma, you have been in this neighbourhood before. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I never had the feeling in the house before,' said Mrs Boffin; 'and I have been about it alone at all hours of the night. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- There is no coffin in that tomb; and may it be many, many years, before another name is placed above it! Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- But why should I not bear it as others have borne it before me! Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- They would not yet let me go: I must sit down and write before them. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- He showed me the silhouettes before he pasted them on white paper and handed them to the girls. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- There was something most startlingly familiar about him, exclaimed Mr. Philander, And yet, bless me, I know I never saw him before. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Every day, now, old Scriptural phrases that never possessed any significance for me before, take to themselves a meaning. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- But the queen had before contrived another project. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- Did not the Communist Manifesto appear many years before Das Kapital? Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- As I had had some previous experience with the statements of mining men, I concluded I would just send down a small plant and prospect the field before putting up a large one. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- It would be best to be away from here before I see her. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- There was a fine gentle wind, and Mr. Pickwick's hat rolled sportively before it. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- He looked at her--oh, how fondly--as she came running towards him, her hands before her, ready to give them to him. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- The suitor, kissing the hem of the garment again before relinquishing it, replied, Habraham Latharuth, on thuthpithion of plate. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Expressions of incredulity and surprise, which he could not repress, interrupted me several times before I had done. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Canby appeared before Mobile on the 27th of March. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Outwardly it is very like the world before the war. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- At nine o'clock in the morning we went and stood before this marble colossus. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Some time ago, before her father's death, when I thought it right to mention to her--but I'll tell you, if you will bear with me, how it was. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- In a still narrower sense the truth of the Preacher's declaration is apparent:-- In an address before the Anthropological Society of Washington in 1885, the late Prof. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
Checker: Lorenzo