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Before   /bɪfˈɔr/  /bˌifˈɔr/   Listen
preposition
Before  prep.  
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."
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." "Before this treatise can become of use, two points are necessary." Note: Formerly before, in this sense, was followed by that. "Before that Philip called thee... I saw thee."
3.
An advance of; farther onward, in place or time. "The golden age... is before us."
4.
Prior or preceding in dignity, order, rank, right, or worth; rather than. "He that cometh after me is preferred before me." "The eldest son is before the younger in succession."
5.
In presence or sight of; face to face with; facing. "Abraham bowed down himself before the people." "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord?"
6.
Under the cognizance or jurisdiction of. "If a suit be begun before an archdeacon."
7.
Open for; free of access to; in the power of. "The world was all before them where to choose."
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.


adverb
Before  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.
In advance. "I come before to tell you."
3.
In time past; previously; already. "You tell me, mother, what I knew before."
4.
Earlier; sooner than; until then. "When the butt is out, we will drink water; not a drop before." Note: Before is often used in self-explaining compounds; as, before-cited, before-mentioned; beforesaid.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Before" Quotes from Famous Books



... and the current is stopped. The iron core then ceases to be a magnet, the hammer H springs back to the contact screw, and the current again flows in the primary circuit only to be interrupted again as before. In this way the current in the primary coil is rapidly started and stopped many times a second, and this, as we know, induces corresponding currents in the secondary which appear as sparks at the discharging points. The effect of the apparatus is enhanced by interpolating ...
— The Story Of Electricity • John Munro
... on all occasions to depreciate Mr. Lovelace, and his family too (a family which deserves nothing but respect): and this gave rise to the conversation I am leading to, between my uncles and them: of which I now come to give the particulars; after I have observed, that it happened before the rencounter, and soon after the inquiry made into Mr. Lovelace's affairs had come out better than my brother and ...
— Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9) • Samuel Richardson
... Then she must give attention to both its preparation for cooking and its actual cooking, and, finally, to its serving. In all these matters she will do well to adhere to the practice of economy, for, at best, poultry is usually an expensive food. Before entering into these matters in detail, however, it will be well to look into them in ...
— Woman's Institute Library of Cookery, Vol. 3 - Volume 3: Soup; Meat; Poultry and Game; Fish and Shell Fish • Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences
... Mercedes and I are not much alarmed about the horse, although this part of Spain is in something of a turmoil, politically, at present, and there is a good deal of lawlessness. In ordinary times the thief and the horse would soon be captured. We shall have them before long, I think. ...
— A Horse's Tale • Mark Twain
... may keep a secret if two of them are dead." "He is no clown who drives the plough, but he that does clownish things." "Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it." "The noblest question in the world is, 'what good may I do in it.'" "Keep your eye wide open before marriage; half ...
— Benjamin Franklin, A Picture of the Struggles of Our Infant Nation One Hundred Years Ago - American Pioneers and Patriots Series • John S. C. Abbott


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