{
    "term": "before",
    "partOfSpeech": "preposition",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "a1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "earlier than somebody/something",
            "cefr": "a1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "before lunch"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the day before yesterday"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The year before last he won a gold medal, and the year before that he won a silver."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She's lived there since before the war."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He arrived before me."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She became a lawyer as her father had before her."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Leave your keys at reception before departure."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Something ought to have been done before now."
                },
                {
                    "text": "We'll know **before long** *(= soon)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Turn left just before *(= before you reach)* the bank."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Time"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "used to say that somebody/something is ahead of somebody/something in an order or arrangement",
            "cefr": "a2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Your name is before mine on the list."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He puts his work before everything *(= regards it as more important than anything else)*."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "used to say that somebody/something is in a position in front of somebody/something",
            "labels": "(rather formal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "They knelt before the throne."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Before you is a list of the points we have to discuss."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "used to say that something is facing somebody in the future",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The task before us is a daunting one."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The whole summer lay before me."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 5,
            "definition": "in the presence of somebody who is listening, watching, etc.",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "He was brought before the judge."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She said it before witnesses."
                },
                {
                    "text": "They had the advantage of playing before their home crowd."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 6,
            "definition": "used to say how somebody reacts when they have to face somebody/something",
            "labels": "(formal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "They retreated before the enemy."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/bɪˈfɔː(r)/",
                "audio": "be/before/before__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/bɪˈfɔːr/",
                "audio": "be/before/before__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "Old English beforan (see by, fore), of Germanic origin; related to German bevor."
}