Synonyms of before

before 1 of 2

preposition

1

as in to

earlier than

since I'm a faster runner, I got there before him

Synonyms & Similar Words

• to
• until
• till
• of
• prior to
• previous to
• in advance of
• ahead of
• ere
• fore
• afore
• up to

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• after
• following
• since
• next
• next to

2

as in against

preceding in space

the children always insisted on running before their parents

Synonyms & Similar Words

• against
• in front of
• ahead of
• in advance of
• afore
• fore

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• after
• following

before

2 of 2

adverb

bi-ˈfȯr 

as in earlier

so as to precede something in order of time

their arrival was completely expected because a messenger had gone before

Synonyms & Similar Words

• earlier
• ahead
• already
• early
• previously
• beforehand
• now
• afore
• shortly
• preliminarily
• soon
• first
• anteriorly
• in advance
• formerly
• antecedently
• prematurely
• before long
• first off
• a priori
• presently
• erelong

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• later
• afterward
• after
• subsequently
• next
• behind
• by and by

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of before

Preposition

True to form, on Friday night Richardson went 45-5, fouled and hit 48-8 before surpassing 49 feet on all of his last three jumps. —Steve Brand, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Apr. 2026

Boston has not won a playoff series since, finishing last in back-to-back years before returning to the postseason last season and losing to the Yankees in the wild-card round. —Jimmy Golen, Chicago Tribune, 26 Apr. 2026

Adverb

That is a significant improvement from before, since the V3 supported a 128,000 token context window. —ABC News, 24 Apr. 2026

However, there is a new question mark that did not exist before. —Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026

Phrases Containing before

• before long