before

“I've never done this before.”

“This achievement far exceeded anything that had come before.”

“We walked behind while they went before.”

“When people call this beast to mind, They marvel more and more At such a little tail behind, So LARGE a trunk before.”

“Near-synonym: no later than”

“Brush your teeth before you go to bed.”

“I'll die before I('ll) tell you anything about it.”

“On the left of the double column of photographs are the “befores.” Look at them! Fine boys all, yet here is an unformed mouth; there, a fine face just missing strength by a slight over-plumpness of feature; below, a clever face just a shade too “smart”; on the next page, a form too slight and beginning to stoop. On the right are the “afters.””

“I told them that I was taking part in a ‘Before and After’ feature for the magazine. The beauty editor had picked a couple of girls in the office to experiment on. ‘I always think that the befores look better than the afters in that kind of experiment,’ Aunt G said.”

“As all are commanded to yield like the mummy when the dung beetle rolls the sun / before all the befores of the trillion nights past night and day / though I knew that the broken receding mouth of the Sphinx had nothing to add / of resurrection in the history of its grimace.”

“Your music has lasted since the beginning of the world. A stone was born in the waters. […] Voice rising to heaven, pure music, green primal root, mother-sea, before all the befores.”

“A big wind blew all their befores away. Impacted teeth grew over their names. Even the lines in their hands unraveled, these are the lines they stand in to ask for their hands back.”

“I guess I should have known from all the befores / that when it’s all said and done / I don’t want to be / I won’t stand to be / I refuse to be / anything but YOURS”

“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.”

“He stood before me.”

“We sat before the fire to warm ourselves.”

“He performed before the troops in North Africa.”

“He spoke before a joint session of Congress.”

“The case laid before the panel aroused nothing but ridicule.”

“If a suit be begun before an archdeacon[…]”

“Your whole life is before you.”

“The golden age[…]is before us.”

“In alphabetical order, "cat" comes before "dog", "canine" before feline".”

“An entrepreneur puts market share and profit before quality, and amateur intrinsic qualities before economical considerations.”

“He that cometh after me is preferred before me.”