afteradv/ˈɑːftə/

• 1

  Behind; later in time; following.

  • I left the room, and the dog bounded after.
  • They lived happily ever after.

afterprep/ˈɑːftə/

• 1

  Subsequently to; following in time; later than.

  • We had a few beers after the game.
  • The time is a quarter after eight.
• 2

  Subsequently to; following in time; later than.

  • Sucess comes after hard work.
• 3

  Subsequently to; following in time; later than.

  • I’m not putting you in charge again after the last disaster.
• 4

  Subsequently to; following in time; later than.

  • After all that has happened, he is still my friend.
  • I can’t believe that, after all our advice against gambling, you walked into that casino!
• 5

  Subsequently to; following in time; later than.

  • I'm tired of picking up after you. Why can't you clean your own messes?
• 6

  Subsequently to; following in time; later than.

  • day after day, time after time, mile after mile, beer after beer, smile after smile
  • Paper after paper spells out how vulnerable we are to internet-induced brain rot.
• 7

  Subsequently to; following in time; later than.

  • I was after finishing my dinner when there was a knock on the door. [= I had just finished my dinner when ...]
  • He was after walking on the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before, all the way from the County Limerick, where his brother, Father John, has a parish; and you may believe, the poor man was tired
• 8

  Behind.

  • He will leave a trail of destruction after him.
  • I told her to shut the door after her.

afterconj/ˈɑːftə/

• 1

  Signifies that the action of the clause it starts takes place before the action of the other clause.

  • The show ends after the fat lady sings.
  • After we had decided to call it a day, I went home.

afteradj/ˈɑːftə/

• 1

  datedLater; second (of two); next, following, subsequent

  • I did verily believe in my own mind, that I couldn't fight in that way at all; but my after experience convinced me that this was all a notion.
  • The amends he had made in after life were lost sight of in the dramatic glare of the original act.
• 2

  At or towards the stern of a ship or the rear of an aircraft.

  • The after gun is mounted aft.
  • The after gun is abaft the forward gun.

afternoun/ˈɑːftə/

• 1

  Of before-and-after images: the one that shows the difference after a specified treatment.

  • In the ‘before’ shots, she’ll look like an ordinary suburban housewife; but we know she acts in community theater musicals sometimes, so the ‘afters’ will give her a glamorous starlet image, starting with a very revealing bathing suit shot.
  • Did any of the before pictures remind you of yourself, and did any of the afters show what you hoped your results might be?