'Before' definitions:

Definition of 'before'

(from WordNet)
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"; "her parents had died four years earlier"; "I mentioned that problem earlier" [syn: earlier, before]
adverb
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" [syn: ahead, in front, before]

Definition of 'Before'

From: GCIDE
  • Before \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. [1913 Webster]
  • His angel, who shall go Before them in a cloud and pillar of fire. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. Preceding in time; earlier than; previously to; anterior to the time when; -- sometimes with the additional idea of purpose; in order that. [1913 Webster]
  • Before Abraham was, I am. --John viii. 58. [1913 Webster]
  • Before this treatise can become of use, two points are necessary. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: Formerly before, in this sense, was followed by that. "Before that Philip called thee . . . I saw thee." --John i. 48. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. An advance of; farther onward, in place or time. [1913 Webster]
  • The golden age . . . is before us. --Carlyle. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Prior or preceding in dignity, order, rank, right, or worth; rather than. [1913 Webster]
  • He that cometh after me is preferred before me. --John i. 15. [1913 Webster]
  • The eldest son is before the younger in succession. --Johnson. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. In presence or sight of; face to face with; facing. [1913 Webster]
  • Abraham bowed down himself before the people. --Gen. xxiii. 12. [1913 Webster]
  • Wherewith shall I come before the Lord? --Micah vi. 6. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. Under the cognizance or jurisdiction of. [1913 Webster]
  • If a suit be begun before an archdeacon. --Ayliffe. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. Open for; free of access to; in the power of. [1913 Webster]
  • The world was all before them where to choose. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Before'

From: GCIDE
  • Before \Be*fore"\, adv.
  • 1. On the fore part; in front, or in the direction of the front; -- opposed to in the rear. [1913 Webster]
  • The battle was before and behind. --2 Chron. xiii. 14. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. In advance. "I come before to tell you." --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. In time past; previously; already. [1913 Webster]
  • You tell me, mother, what I knew before. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. Earlier; sooner than; until then. [1913 Webster]
  • When the butt is out, we will drink water; not a drop before. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: Before is often used in self-explaining compounds; as, before-cited, before-mentioned; beforesaid. [1913 Webster]

Synonyms of 'before'

From: Moby Thesaurus