Definitions for: Before


[adv] 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"; "her parents had died four years earlier"; "I mentioned that problem earlier"
[adv] at or in the front; "I see the lights of a town ahead"; "the road ahead is foggy"; "staring straight ahead"; "we couldn't see over the heads of the people in front"; "with the cross of Jesus marching on before"



Webster (1913) Definition: Be*fore", prep. [OE. beforen, biforen, before, AS.
beforan; pref. be- + foran, fore, before. See Be-, and
Fore.]
1. In front of; preceding in space; ahead of; as, to stand
before the fire; before the house.

His angel, who shall go Before them in a cloud and
pillar of fire. --Milton.

2. Preceding in time; earlier than; previously to; anterior
to the time when; -- sometimes with the additional idea of
purpose; in order that.

Before Abraham was, I am. --John viii.
58.

Before this treatise can become of use, two points
are necessary. --Swift.

Note: Formerly before, in this sense, was followed by that.
``Before that Philip called thee . . . I saw thee.''
--John i. 48.

3. An advance of; farther onward, in place or time.

The golden age . . . is before us. --Carlyle.

4. Prior or preceding in dignity, order, rank, right, or
worth; rather than.

He that cometh after me is preferred before me.
--John i. 15.

The eldest son is before the younger in succession.
--Johnson.

5. In presence or sight of; face to face with; facing.

Abraham bowed down himself before the people. --Gen.
xxiii. 12.

Wherewith shall I come before the Lord? --Micah vi.
6.

6. Under the cognizance or jurisdiction of.

If a suit be begun before an archdeacon. --Ayliffe.

7. Open for; free of access to; in the power of.

The world was all before them where to choose.
--Milton.

Before the mast (Naut.), as a common sailor, -- because the
sailors live in the forecastle, forward of the foremast.


Before the wind (Naut.), in the direction of the wind and
by its impulse; having the wind aft.


Be*fore", adv.
1. On the fore part; in front, or in the direction of the
front; -- opposed to in the rear.

The battle was before and behind. --2 Chron.
xiii. 14.

2. In advance. ``I come before to tell you.'' --Shak.

3. In time past; previously; already.

You tell me, mother, what I knew before. --Dryden.

4. Earlier; sooner than; until then.

When the butt is out, we will drink water; not a
drop before. --Shak.

Note: Before is often used in self-explaining compounds; as,
before-cited, before-mentioned; beforesaid.

Synonyms: ahead, earlier, in front

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