Join free

before

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

before

  • /bɪˈfɔː/ UK
  • /bɪˈfoɹ/ US
  • /biˈfoɹ/ US
  • /bəˈfoɹ/ US
  • /bɪˈfoː/ Australia
  • /bəˈfoː/ New Zealand
  • /bɪˈfo(ː)ɹ/
  • /bɪˈfoə/

Rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)

Where it comes from

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi

Proto-Germanic *bider.

Proto-Germanic *bi-

Proto-West Germanic *bi-

Old English be-

Old English foran

Old English beforan

Middle English bifore

English before

Inherited from Middle English before /bifore, from Old English beforan, from be- + foran (“before”), from fore, from Proto-Germanic *furai, from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“front”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian befoar (“before”), German Low German bevör (“before”), German bevor (“before”).

preposition befo · befo' · b4 · be4

  1. Earlier than (in time). I want this done before Monday.
  2. In front of in space. He stood before me.
  3. In the presence of. He performed before the troops in North Africa.
  4. Under consideration, judgment, authority of (someone). The case laid before the panel aroused nothing but ridicule.
  5. In store for, in the future of (someone). Your whole life is before you.
  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.

adverb befo · befo' · b4 · be4

  1. not comparable At an earlier time. I've never done this before.
  2. literary, not comparable, poetic In advance in position or sequence; ahead. We walked behind while they went before.
  3. not comparable, uncommon 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.

conjunction befo · befo' · b4 · be4

  1. In advance of the time when. Near-synonym: no later than
  2. informal Rather or sooner than. I'll die before I('ll) tell you anything about it.

noun befores · befo · befo' · b4 · be4

  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 beginn
  2. often, poetic, uncommon 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.
  3. rare A 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.

Talk about this word