BEFORE


Meaning of BEFORE in English

INDEX:

1. before you do something or before something happens

2. before a particular time or date

3. before now

4. someone or something that existed before or that you had before

5. before someone or something else in a list, line, series etc

6. a time, day, month etc that comes before another one

7. to happen or exist before someone or something else

8. to do something before someone else does it

RELATED WORDS

opposite

↑ AFTER

the time before now : ↑ PAST

see also

↑ EARLY

↑ FIRST

↑ PREPARE

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1. before you do something or before something happens

▷ before /bɪˈfɔːʳ/ [preposition/conjunction]

before you do something or before an event happens :

▪ The family left France just before the war.

▪ Think carefully before you give your final answer.

▪ Before I had a chance to say anything, David walked away.

before doing something

▪ Before joining IBM, Frank worked for Toshiba.

▪ You should check the oil before beginning a long car journey.

before that

▪ We spent two years in Thailand, and before that we lived in China.

▪ I was a waiter for six months, and before that I worked in a supermarket.

a week/two days/five years etc before

▪ I was born just eleven months before my brother.

▷ beforehand also ahead of time American /bɪˈfɔːʳhænd, əˌhed əv ˈtaɪm/ [adverb]

if you do something beforehand or ahead of time, you do it before you do something else, especially to make the situation easier :

▪ Let me know ahead of time if you need a ride to the airport.

▪ We had agreed beforehand not to tell anyone else about our plans.

▷ first /fɜːʳst/ [adverb]

before you do something else :

▪ Add the onions and garlic first, then the mushrooms.

▪ ‘Shall we go for some lunch?’ ‘Yeah, great, let me just make a quick call first.’

▷ in advance /ɪn ədˈvɑːnsǁ-ˈvæns/ [adverb]

if you do something in advance, you do it before another event happens, especially so that you are prepared :

▪ Pasta salad is a dish that you can easily prepare in advance.

▪ I wish you’d told me in advance that you were going to be late.

in advance of

▪ Your passport application should be submitted well in advance of your departure.

three days/six months/a year etc in advance

▪ Preparations for the president’s visit had been made several months in advance.

▷ pre- /priː/ [prefix]

pre-war/pre-Christmas/pre-Roman etc

before the war, Christmas etc :

▪ Life in pre-war Britain was simpler and less fast-paced.

▪ As usual, the government seems to have forgotten most of its pre-election promises.

▷ prior to /ˈpraɪəʳ tuː/ [preposition] formal

before, especially before a particular event or date :

▪ I spoke with Sarah prior to the meeting.

prior to doing something

▪ The doctor should have told you about the possible side effects prior to starting you on the medication.

▷ on the eve of/in the run-up to /ɒn ði ˈiːv ɒv, ɪn ðə ˈrʌn ʌp tuː/ [preposition]

the time before an important event :

▪ On the eve of the election, some of the candidates were showing signs of strain.

▪ No-one claimed responsibility for the bombing, which occurred on the eve of the Prime Minister’s visit.

▪ Another round of TV debates will be held in the run-up to the referendum.

▷ advance /ədˈvɑːnsǁədˈvæns/ [adjective only before noun]

given or done before the time that a particular event takes place or before the time that something is expected to happen :

▪ Aid workers say the village had no advance warning of the floods.

▪ Advance bookings for the concert start today.

▪ Airport visas may be obtained if forty-eight hours advance notice has been provided.

▷ prior /ˈpraɪəʳ/ [adjective only before noun] formal

taking place before something else happens or before someone is allowed to do something :

▪ The airline says that some flights may be cancelled without prior warning.

▪ The phone company is required to give you prior notice before disconnecting your service.

▪ The tenant must get the prior consent of the landlord before doing any redecorating in the flat.

2. before a particular time or date

▷ before /bɪˈfɔːʳ/ [preposition]

▪ Call me back before 5.30.

▪ You should go, before John gets back.

just before

▪ Our daughter was born just before Christmas.

▷ by /baɪ/ [preposition]

by 6 o'clock/Friday/next winter etc

at some time before 6 o'clock, Friday etc, and certainly not later than this :

▪ I’ll be home by 6.30, I promise.

▪ By 9.00, most of the guests had arrived.

▪ Please try to have this done by Friday.

▷ no later than also by something at the latest /nəʊ ˈleɪtəʳ ð ə n, baɪ something ət ðə ˈleɪtə̇st/ [preposition]

before or at a particular time but definitely not after it - used especially to tell someone the time by which they must have done something :

▪ I want your essays back no later than Wednesday, nine o'clock.

▪ Jenny should be back by Monday at the latest.

▪ Entry forms for the competition should arrive no later than Friday, November 1st.

▪ The dinner party will be over by ten-thirty at the very latest.

3. before now

▷ before /bɪˈfɔːʳ/ [adverb]

before now or before the time you are talking about :

▪ I had never seen such an ugly baby before.

▪ Wendell had never been on a plane before.

the day/week/year etc before

▪ Sheila and I became friends in 1995, although we had actually met several years before.

▷ ago /əˈgəʊ/ [adverb]

five minutes/two weeks/20 years etc ago

five minutes, two weeks, twenty years etc before now :

▪ George went out half an hour ago. Can I have him call you back?

▪ Lucy’s aunt died a few months ago.

a long time ago

▪ ‘When did you live in Germany?’ ‘Oh, it was a long time ago.’

ages ago

spoken a very long time ago

▪ Pauline wrote to me once, but that was ages ago.

▷ earlier /ˈɜːʳliəʳ/ [adverb]

at some time, date, year etc before now or before the time you are talking about :

▪ Didn’t I give you the key earlier?

earlier in the day/year etc

▪ I saw Barbara earlier in the day - she looked pretty upset.

20 years earlier/10 minutes earlier/moments earlier etc

▪ Three years earlier, Miller had been happily married, with a good job.

▷ previously /ˈpriːviəsli/ [adverb]

before a time or event in the past :

▪ Hastings previously worked for a software company in Richmond.

▪ The bombing is being blamed on a previously unknown group of terrorists.

two days/three weeks/six months etc previously

▪ She had met Atwood at a conference a few weeks previously.

▷ formerly /ˈfɔːʳməʳli/ [adverb] formal

during a period in the past but not now :

▪ Milligan, 43, was formerly a deputy foreign minister.

▪ Peru was formerly ruled by the Spanish.

▪ Watkins was formerly editor of the Express, a local weekly newspaper.

4. someone or something that existed before or that you had before

▷ previous /ˈpriːviəs/ [adjective only before noun]

the previous person or thing is the one that existed just before now or before the time you are talking about :

▪ The car’s previous owner didn’t take very good care of it.

▪ Please ignore my previous instructions.

▷ last /lɑːstǁlæst/ [adjective only before noun]

the last thing or person is the one that you had just before now, or the one that existed just before now :

▪ The last apartment we lived in was much smaller than this one.

▪ Beth broke up with her last boyfriend because he drank too much.

▷ ex- /eks/ [prefix]

ex-wife/ex-boyfriend/ex-soldier etc

someone who used to be someone’s wife, used to be a soldier etc, but is not any more :

▪ Her dad’s an ex-policeman.

▪ Lydia is still friends with her ex-husband.

▷ old /əʊld/ [adjective only before noun]

somebody’s old job/car/girlfriend/boss etc

the job, car etc that someone had before the one they have now :

▪ The new stadium is much bigger than the old one.

▪ I saw Phil with one of my old girlfriends.

▪ We all liked the old teacher better.

▷ the one before /ðə ˌwʌn bɪˈfɔːʳ/ [pronoun]

the person or thing that existed before the one you have just mentioned :

▪ I didn’t enjoy Spielberg’s last film but I thought the one before was all right.

▪ Each year, the convention is a little larger than the one before.

▷ former /ˈfɔːʳməʳ/ [adjective only before noun] formal

use this especially to talk about someone who used to have a particular job or position but does not any more :

▪ Her former husband now lives in Houston.

▪ Weinberger was an advisor to former president Ronald Reagan.

▷ predecessor /ˈpriːdɪsesəʳ, ˈpriːdəsesəʳǁˈpre-/ [countable noun] formal

someone’s predecessor is the person who had the same job before them :

▪ Vandenberg has been a more active director than his predecessor.

▪ Sally’s predecessor had warned her about Nick, one of the company vice-presidents.

▷ precursor /prɪˈkɜːʳsəʳ/ [countable noun] formal

someone whose ideas or style are later used by another more famous person, or an organization, movement or machine that later develops into one that is more important :

precursor of/to

▪ The abacus was the precursor of the modern electronic calculator.

▪ The Office of Strategic Services was the precursor of the CIA.

▷ forerunner /ˈfɔːˌrʌnəʳ/ [countable noun]

the first person, organization, machine etc that existed before the one that exists now and that the one that exists now is based on :

forerunner of

▪ The P-50 is a forerunner of today’s supersonic jet.

▪ Hansen played in the American Basketball League, a forerunner of the NBA.

5. before someone or something else in a list, line, series etc

▷ before /bɪˈfɔːʳ/ [preposition]

before something or someone else in a list, series, or set :

▪ I think you were before me in line, weren’t you?

▪ Islington station is one stop before Finsbury Park on the Victoria Line.

▷ come before/precede /ˌkʌm bɪˈfɔːʳ, prɪˈsiːd/ [verb phrase/transitive verb]

to happen or exist before something or someone else :

▪ Churchill was a much stronger leader than the man who came before him.

▪ A planning session at eleven-thirty will precede the noon lunch discussion.

be preceded by something

▪ Witnesses say the fire was preceded by a loud explosion.

▪ In most cases the illness is preceded by vomiting and chills.

▷ in front of/ahead of /ɪn ˈfrʌnt ɒv, əˈhed ɒv/ [preposition]

before another person in a group of people who are waiting to do something :

▪ The man in front of me looked very familiar.

▪ There were about fifty people ahead of us waiting for tickets.

▷ previous /ˈpriːviəs/ [adjective only before noun]

coming before the one that you are dealing with now :

▪ The previous chapter examined how children learn language.

▪ Each number in the series 2 - 4 - 8 - 16 is twice as large as the previous number.

▷ earlier /ˈɜːʳliəʳ/ [adjective only before noun]

coming at some time before the one you have just mentioned - use this especially about something that is very different from what is happening now :

▪ He used a lot more color in his earlier paintings.

▪ The play lacks the wit and energy of Jergen’s earlier work.

▷ the one before /ðə ˌwʌn bɪˈfɔːʳ/ [pronoun]

the thing that comes before another in a series :

▪ When you’re in prison, every day feels just like the one before.

▷ preceding /prɪˈsiːdɪŋ/ [adjective only before noun] formal

coming before the thing you have just mentioned, or the part of a book where you are now :

▪ The preceding chapters have described several key events in recent French history.

▪ In the preceding section of the poem, Whitman is talking about how important it is to live in the present.

▷ above /əˈbʌv/ [adjective only before noun] written

use this to talk about a person or thing that was mentioned earlier :

▪ Write to the above address for more information.

▪ The above diagram shows a diesel car engine.

the above

[singular noun] the people or things mentioned earlier

▪ Contact any of the above for more details.

above [adverb]

▪ None of the organizations mentioned above answered our inquiries.

6. a time, day, month etc that comes before another one

▷ previous /ˈpriːviəs/ [adjective only before noun]

▪ The company recorded a 50% increase in profits over the previous year.

▪ Kirsty’s baby had been born the previous October, while she was still in England.

▷ yesterday morning/afternoon/evening etc /ˌjestəʳdi ˈmɔːʳnɪŋ/ [adverb]

the morning, afternoon, or evening of the day before today :

▪ My sister and I went shopping yesterday lunchtime.

▪ We met yesterday morning to discuss plans for the conference.

▷ last week/year/Monday etc /ˌlɑːst ˈwiːkǁˌlæst-/ [adjective only before noun]

the week, year etc before this one :

▪ I spoke to Neil and Sandra last weekend.

▪ We still haven’t paid last month’s rent.

▷ the day/week/month/year before /ðə ˌdeɪ, ˌwiːk, ˌmʌnθ, ˌjɪəʳ bɪˈfɔːʳ/ [adverb/preposition]

the day, week, month, year before the one in the past that you have just mentioned :

▪ The day before the exam, I felt worried and unprepared.

▪ Last week she was in Paris, and the week before she was in Rome.

▷ preceding /prɪˈsiːdɪŋ/ [adjective only before noun] formal

the preceding months, years etc are the ones just before the time in the past that you are talking about :

▪ The company made more profit in that one month than it made in the whole of the preceding year.

▪ He had been arrested at least fifteen times in the preceding five years.

7. to happen or exist before someone or something else

▷ come before /ˌkʌm bɪˈfɔːʳ/ [verb phrase not in progressive or passive]

▪ The paragraph says basically the same thing as the one that came before.

come before something

▪ The salad usually comes before the main course.

▪ In the Greek alphabet, the letter delta comes before the letter epsilon.

▷ precede /prɪˈsiːd/ [transitive verb] formal

to come just before something else in a pattern or series :

▪ In English, the subject precedes the verb.

▪ On vehicle licence plates in the UK, the numbers are preceded by a single letter.

▷ predate /priːˈdeɪt/ [transitive verb]

if one historical event or object predates another, it happened or existed before it :

▪ Many economic systems predate capitalism.

predate something by 10/50/200 etc years

▪ The steam engine predates the internal combustion engine by at least 100 years.

▷ lead up to /ˌliːd ˈʌp tuː/ [transitive phrasal verb not in passive]

if an event leads up to another event, it comes before it and often causes it to happen :

▪ Monroe still refuses to talk about the events which led up to his resignation.

▪ The book describes some of the events leading up to the First World War.

▷ come first /ˌkʌm ˈfɜːʳst/ [verb phrase]

if one of two events comes first, it happens before the other event :

▪ The rains came first, then the storms.

▷ be a prelude to something /biː ə ˈpreljuːd tə something/ [verb phrase] formal or written

if an event is a prelude to a more important event, it happens just before it and often makes people expect it :

▪ The air-strike was just a prelude to the invasion.

▪ The revolution of 1789 was a prelude to a more just and equal society.

8. to do something before someone else does it

▷ do something first /ˌduː something ˈfɜːʳst/ [verb phrase]

if you do something, go somewhere, see something etc first, you do it before someone else :

▪ It’s mine - I saw it first.

▪ Who wants to go first?

▪ Sandy finished the puzzle first.

▷ be the first/be first /biː ðə ˈfɜːʳst, biː ˈfɜːʳst/ [verb phrase]

to be the first person to do a particular thing :

▪ Many people have copied her style, but she was definitely the first.

be the first/first to do something

▪ Of the four of us, my sister was the first to get married.

▷ beat somebody to it /ˌbiːt somebody ˈtuː ɪt/ [verb phrase] informal

to get or do something before another person who is trying to do the same thing :

▪ I was going to have that last piece of pie but somebody beat me to it.

▪ When Charlie finally got down there to buy the car, he discovered that someone else had beaten him to it.

▷ ahead of /əˈhed ɒv/ [preposition]

if you arrive somewhere or finish something ahead of someone, you arrive there or finish it before them :

▪ Carrie got to the pub ahead of us.

▪ Cole finished the race ahead of Jewison.

▷ be ahead of your time /biː əˌhed əv jɔːʳ ˈtaɪm/ [verb phrase]

if someone is ahead of their time they do something before other people do it, especially by having new ideas before anyone else :

▪ As an architect, Sir John Soan was ahead of his time.

way ahead of your time

▪ Ashton’s educational theories were way ahead of their time.

Longman Activator English vocab.      Английский словарь Longman активатор .