beforehand
Americanadverb
adjective
Etymology
Origin of beforehand
First recorded in 1175–1225, beforehand is from the Middle English word bifor-hand. See before, hand
Vocabulary lists containing beforehand
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Although many of the women had met online beforehand, seeing one another in person was different.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
Holger Schmieding, chief economist at the bank Berenberg, predicted that EU leaders would try to fill the vacancies "as a package, no later than the EU summit of 17-18 December, and possibly beforehand".
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
As Willy observes, it also educated listeners about Puerto Rico with context they didn’t have beforehand, making an album like “Libertad” potentially more approachable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
"Fusion experiments cost a great deal of money, and you do not want to make mistakes you could have caught beforehand," he said.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
She’d come up to show it to us beforehand.
From "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
