ADJ.
dark, done, gross, long, odd, open, ugly
The restaurant was closed long before we arrived for dinner.
VERB + BEFORE
back, book, call, come, don't, hands, heard, met
I need to book before the flights get too expensive.
BEFORE + NOUN
arrival, meals, monday, o'clock, saturday, speech, student
We always eat a healthy breakfast before meals to keep our energy up throughout the day.
ADV.
somewhere
I've seen that movie somewhere before, but I can't remember where exactly.
prep
Earlier than (in time).
I want this done before Monday.
We made an odd party before the arrival of the Ten, particularly when the Celebrity dropped in for lunch or dinner.
In front of in space.
He stood before me.
We sat before the fire to warm ourselves.
In the presence of.
He performed before the troops in North Africa.
He spoke before a joint session of Congress.
Under consideration, judgment, authority of (someone).
The case laid before the panel aroused nothing but ridicule.
If a suit be begun before an archdeacon[…]
In store for, in the future of (someone).
Your whole life is before you.
The golden age[…]is before us.
adv
At an earlier time.
I've never done this before.
This achievement far exceeded anything that had come before.
In advance in position or sequence; ahead.
We walked behind while they went before.
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.
conj
In advance of the time when.
Near-synonym: no later than
Brush your teeth before you go to bed.
Rather or sooner than.
I'll die before I('ll) tell you anything about it.
To give things of value to those who will not understand or appreciate them.
Blanche: ...Physical beauty is passing. A transitory possession. But beauty of the mind and richness of the spirit and tenderness of the heart—and I have all of those things—aren't
To put things in the wrong order or with the wrong priorities; to put something inconsequential as more important than something more essential.
The hour had struck; and with it, as always, appeared the man. So it has ever been in the history of the world; though we, with characteristic vanity, uniformly put the cart before
One should not depend upon a favorable (and typically overoptimistic) outcome to one's plans until it is certain to occur.
[...] Make Fools believe in their fore-seeing / Of things before they are in Being; / To swallow Gudgeons ere th' are catch'd, / And count their Chickens ere th' are hatch'd, [...]
A period of peace before a disturbance or crisis; an unnatural or false calm before a storm.
The meeting may be peaceful now, but this is only the calm before the storm.
A phrase said to allow older people to go before younger ones.
It is recorded that Mrs. Parker and a snooty debutante were both going in to supper at a party: the debutante made elaborate way, saying sweetly "Age before beauty, Mrs. Parker." "
I want this done before Monday.
WiktionaryWe made an odd party before the arrival of the Ten, particularly when the Celebrity dropped in for lunch or dinner.
WiktionaryHe stood before me.
WiktionaryI've never done this before.
WiktionaryThis achievement far exceeded anything that had come before.
WiktionaryAll this was extraordinarily distasteful to Churchill. It was ugly, gross. Never before had he felt such repulsion when the vicar displayed his characteristic bluntness or coarseness of speech. In the
Wiktionaryi Register
In some senses, before is marked as literary, informal, poetic, rare. Watch for register when choosing this word.