adv.

1. Earlier in time: They called me the day before.
2. In front; ahead.

prep.

1. Previous to in time; earlier than.
2. In front of.
3. In store for; awaiting: The young man's whole life lies before him.
4. Into or in the presence of: She asked that the visitor be brought before her.
5. Under the consideration or jurisdiction of: The case is now before the court.
6. In a position superior to: The prince is before his brother in the line of succession.

conj.

1. In advance of the time when: See me before you leave.
2. Rather than; sooner than: I will die before I will betray my country.

[Middle English bifore, from Old English beforan.]

adverb

1. At a time in the past: already, earlier, erstwhile, formerly, once, previously. Archaic aforetime, beforetime. See precede/follow.
2. Up to this time: earlier, heretofore, previously, yet. See precede/follow.
3. Until then: beforehand, earlier. See precede/follow.

Idioms beginning with before:
before long
before the wind

See also cart before the horse; cast pearls before swine; look before you leap.

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adv

Definition: earlier
Antonyms: after, afterward, behind, later

prep

Definition: earlier than
Antonyms: after, afterward, behind, later

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IN BRIEF: Earlier in time.

Laugh at yourself first, before anybody else can. — Elsa Maxwell, (1883-1963), American columnist, songwriter, and professional party-giver.

Common misspelling(s) of before

• befoer

Dansk (Danish)
prep. - før, inden
conj. - før, førend, inden
adv. - før, allerede, tidligere

idioms:

• before long    inden længe
• before one's eyes    i nogens påsyn, for nogens ansigt
• before the fact    over for den kendsgerning
• go before    gå i forvejen

Nederlands (Dutch)
voor, alvorens, vroeger, eerder, ten overstaan van, t.o.v.

Français (French)
prep. - avant, en présence de, devant, en face de, autrefois, auparavant, avant peu, sous peu, d'ici peu, bientôt, plutôt que
conj. - avant de, avant que, pour que, auparavant, en avant, devant, (fig) en moins de rien, plutôt que de (suivi de l'infinitif)
adv. - avant, auparavant, en avant, devant

idioms:

• before long    longtemps auparavant
• before one knows it    avant qu'on ne l'apprenne
• before one's eyes    devant les/sous les yeux de qn
• before the fact    avant/après le fait
• go before    devancer

Deutsch (German)
prep. - vor
conj. - bevor
adv. - früher, vorher, voran

idioms:

• before long    bald
• before one knows it    ehe jmd. sich's versieht
• before one's eyes    vor den Augen
• before the fact    bevor der Straftat
• go before    früher leben/geschehen, kommen/erscheinen vor

Ελληνική (Greek)
prep. - πριν από, προ, εμπρός (από), μπροστά (από), ενώπιον
conj. - προτού, προτιμότερα, παρά να
adv. - προηγουμένως, πριν, στο παρελθόν, εδώ και (καιρό), μπροστά

idioms:

• before long    σε λίγο, σύντομα
• before one's eyes    μπρος στα μάτια μου
• before the fact    προ της τελέσεως του γεγονότος, σε ρόλο ηθικού αυτουργού
• come before    προηγούμαι, εμφανίζομαι ενώπιον
• go before    προηγούμαι, εμφανίζομαι ενώπιον, υποβάλλομαι σε

Italiano (Italian)
davanti a, in presenza di, di fronte a, prima che, prima, una volta

idioms:

• before long    presto

Português (Portuguese)
prep. - diante de
conj. - antes que, de preferência a
adv. - adiante, anteriormente

idioms:

• before long    em breve
• go before    ir adiante

Русский (Russian)
перед, раньше, прежде

idioms:

• before long    вскоре
• go before    предшествовать во времени или по порядку

Español (Spanish)
prep. - ante, delante de, antes de, antes de que, enfrente de
conj. - antes, anterior
adv. - antes, anteriormente, primero, delante, enfrente, al frente

idioms:

• before long    dentro de poco
• before one knows it    antes de que uno se entere
• before one's eyes    delante de mis propios ojos
• before the fact    antes de cometer un crimen
• go before    preceder, anteceder, ir delante de

Svenska (Swedish)
prep. - framför, inför, före
conj. - innan, förrän
adv. - framför, före, förut

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
在...之前, 较早, 曾经, 以前, 在前

idioms:

• before long    不久
• before one's eyes    在眼前
• before the fact    事前
• go before    时间上的居先, 生卒于...之前, 出现在...之前, 先走

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
prep. - 在...之前
conj. - 在...之前
adv. - 較早, 曾經, 以前, 在前

idioms:

• before long    不久
• before one's eyes    在眼前
• before the fact    事前
• go before    時間上的居先, 生卒於...之前, 出現在...之前, 先走

한국어 (Korean)
prep. - ~의 앞에, ~보다도 전에, 앞서서
conj. - ~하기에 앞서서, 아직~하기 전에
adv. - 앞에, 이전에, 일찍

idioms:

• go before    앞서가다, 안내하다, 먼저 죽다

日本語 (Japanese)
prep. - 前に, 面前に, 前途に, 押されて, …より先に
adv. - 以前に, 前方に
conj. - …よりも前に, …するよりはむしろ

idioms:

• before long    遠からず, やがて間もなく
• before the hour    正時前に
• come before    前にくる, 優先する, 現れる, 提起される, 前に出る, 提出される
• go before    先立つ, 前に出頭する
• the ... before last    先々, 一昨
• up before    現れる

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(حرف جر) أمام, تجاه, ازاء (حرف عطف) قبل أن (ظرف) قبل, من قبل, سابقا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
prep. - ‮לפני-, בטרם, לפני ש-‬
conj. - ‮לפני-, בטרם, לפני ש-‬
adv. - ‮לפנים, בעבר, לפני כן‬

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hear before you	before he cheats
Nightmare Before Christmas	land before time