The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - beforeadv.

1) previously, earlier, already, beforehand; formerly, in the past; once: I have told you before, don't count your chickens. 2) ahead, in advance, in front, in the forefront, first, in the vanguard, Colloq up front: He let his wife walk before, as he knew the road was mined. 3) ahead, in the future, to come: Before lie the prospects of surrendering or dying. --prep. 4) ahead of, in advance of, in front of, forward of: The king indicated that the page should go before him. 5) in front of; in the presence of: The entire valley was spread out before me. 6) preceding, previous or anterior to, prior to; on the eve of: Before my departure I have to kiss Annie goodbye. 7 in preference to, rather than, sooner than, more willingly than: They said they would die before yielding. --conj. 8) previous to or preceding the time when: This was a nice place before the day-trippers arrived.