Search Result for "before": 
Wordnet 3.0

ADVERB (2)

1. earlier in time; previously;
- Example: "I had known her before"
- Example: "as I said before"
- Example: "he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier"
- Example: "her parents had died four years earlier"
- Example: "I mentioned that problem earlier"
[syn: earlier, before]

2. at or in the front;
- Example: "I see the lights of a town ahead"
- Example: "the road ahead is foggy"
- Example: "staring straight ahead"
- Example: "we couldn't see over the heads of the people in front"
- Example: "with the cross of Jesus marching on before"
[syn: ahead, in front, before]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

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]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

before adv 1: 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] 2: 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]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

83 Moby Thesaurus words for "before": above, aforetime, ahead, ahead of time, already, ante, before all, before now, beforehand, beforetime, betimes, by choice, by election, by vote, confronting, earlier, early, ere, ere then, erenow, erewhile, erst, erstwhile, facing, first, fore, foremost, foresightedly, formerly, forward, headmost, hereinabove, hereinbefore, heretofore, historically, hitherto, in advance, in advance of, in anticipation, in anticipation of, in front, in front of, in preference, in preference to, in preparation for, in the forefront, in the foreground, in the front, in the future, in the lead, in the past, in times past, once, only yesterday, or ever, preceding, precociously, preferably, prehistorically, previous, previous to, previously, prior to, priorly, rather, rather than, recently, sooner, sooner than, supra, then, theretofore, till, to, to come, to the fore, to the front, until, up ahead, up to, whilom, yesterday, yet