beforeprep/bɪˈfɔː/

• 1

  Earlier than (in time).

  • I want this done before Monday.
  • We made an odd party before the arrival of the Ten, particularly when the Celebrity dropped in for lunch or dinner.
• 2

  In front of in space.

  • He stood before me.
  • We sat before the fire to warm ourselves.
• 3

  In the presence of.

  • He performed before the troops in North Africa.
  • He spoke before a joint session of Congress.
• 4

  Under consideration, judgment, authority of (someone).

  • The case laid before the panel aroused nothing but ridicule.
  • If a suit be begun before an archdeacon[…]
• 5

  In store for, in the future of (someone).

  • Your whole life is before you.
  • The golden age[…]is before us.
• 6

  In front of, according to a formal system of ordering items.

  • In alphabetical order, "cat" comes before "dog", "canine" before feline".
• 7

  At a higher or greater position than, in a ranking.

  • An entrepreneur puts market share and profit before quality, and amateur intrinsic qualities before economical considerations.
  • He that cometh after me is preferred before me.

beforeadv/bɪˈfɔː/

• 1

  At an earlier time.

  • I've never done this before.
  • This achievement far exceeded anything that had come before.
• 2

  literaryIn advance in position or sequence; ahead.

  • We walked behind while they went before.
• 3

  At the front end.

  • When people call this beast to mind, They marvel more and more At such a little tail behind, So LARGE a trunk before.

beforeconj/bɪˈfɔː/

• 1

  In advance of the time when.

  • Near-synonym: no later than
  • Brush your teeth before you go to bed.
• 2

  informalRather or sooner than.

  • I'll die before I('ll) tell you anything about it.

beforenoun/bɪˈfɔː/

• 1

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

  • On the left of the double column of photographs are the “befores.” Look at them! Fine boys all, yet here is an unformed mouth; there, a fine face just missing strength by a slight over-plumpness of feature; below, a clever face just a shade too “smart”; on the next page, a form too slight and beginning to stoop. On the right are the “afters.”
  • I told them that I was taking part in a ‘Before and After’ feature for the magazine. The beauty editor had picked a couple of girls in the office to experiment on. ‘I always think that the befores look better than the afters in that kind of experiment,’ Aunt G said.
• 2

  That which occurred or existed previously.

  • As all are commanded to yield like the mummy when the dung beetle rolls the sun / before all the befores of the trillion nights past night and day / though I knew that the broken receding mouth of the Sphinx had nothing to add / of resurrection in the history of its grimace.
  • Your music has lasted since the beginning of the world. A stone was born in the waters. […] Voice rising to heaven, pure music, green primal root, mother-sea, before all the befores.
• 3

  rareA previous form or instance.

  • A big wind blew all their befores away. Impacted teeth grew over their names. Even the lines in their hands unraveled, these are the lines they stand in to ask for their hands back.
  • I guess I should have known from all the befores / that when it’s all said and done / I don’t want to be / I won’t stand to be / I refuse to be / anything but YOURS