be·fore·hand

(bĭ-fôr′hănd′)

adv. & adj.

1. In anticipation.

2. In advance; early.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

beforehand

(bɪˈfɔːˌhænd)

adj, adv (postpositive)

early; in advance; in anticipation: she came an hour beforehand.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

be•fore•hand

(bɪˈfɔrˌhænd, -ˈfoʊr-)

adv., adj.

in advance; ahead of time; in anticipation.

[1175–1225]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.	1.	beforehand - being ahead of time or need; "gave advance warning"; "was beforehand with her report" advance early - at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time; "early morning"; "an early warning"; "early diagnosis"; "an early death"; "took early retirement"; "an early spring"; "early varieties of peas and tomatoes mature before most standard varieties"
Adv.	1.	beforehand - ahead of time; in anticipation; "when you pay ahead (or in advance) you receive a discount"; "We like to plan ahead"; "should have made reservations beforehand" in advance, ahead

beforehand

adverb in advance, before, earlier, already, sooner, ahead, previously, in anticipation, before now, ahead of time How could she tell beforehand that I was going to go out?

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

beforehand

adverb

1. Before the expected time:

ahead, betimes, early.

Idioms: ahead of time, in advance, with time to spare.

2. Until then:

before, earlier.

Translations

سَلَفامُقَدَّماً

předem

på forhånd

vorher

προκαταβολικά

con antelación de antemano previamente

etukäteen

au préalable auparavant d'avance devant préalablement

unaprijed

elõzõleg

fyrir fram

anticipatamente in anticipo

あらかじめ

미리

заблаговременно заранее

vnaprej

i förväg

ล่วงหน้า

daha öncedenevveldenönceden

sớm hơn

预先

beforehand

[bɪˈfɔːhænd] ADV → de antemano, con antelación

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

beforehand

[bɪˈfɔː^rhænd] adv → au préalable, à l'avance

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

beforehand

adv → im Voraus; you must tell me beforehand → Sie müssen mir vorher Bescheid sagen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

beforehand

[bɪˈfɔːˌhænd] adv → prima, in anticipo
let me know your plans beforehand → fammi sapere i tuoi piani in anticipo

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

before

(biˈfoː) preposition

1. earlier than. before the war; He'll come before very long.

2. in front of. She was before me in the queue.

3. rather than. Honour before wealth.

adverb

earlier. I've seen you before.

conjunction

earlier than the time when. Before I go, I must phone my parents.

beˈforehand (-hand) adverb

before the time when something else is done. If you're coming, let me know beforehand.

beforehand

→ مُقَدَّماً předem på forhånd vorher προκαταβολικά con antelación etukäteen précédemment unaprijed in anticipo あらかじめ 미리 van tevoren på forhånd przedtem antecipadamente заранее i förväg ล่วงหน้า daha önceden sớm hơn 预先

beforehand

adv. con anterioridad, con anticipación; de antemano.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

These military devices, leading to victory, must not be divulged beforehand.

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This proceeding of the Indians having been plainly resolved on beforehand, as a means of preventing their being traced, I lost no time in returning to England.

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Then I should be able to calculate my whole life for thirty years beforehand. In short, if this could be arranged there would be nothing left for us to do; anyway, we should have to understand that.

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"To begin with, tell me," said she, "how have you watched me so closely as to be aware beforehand not only of my arrival, but even of the day, the hour, and the port at which I should arrive?"

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He listened eagerly to what Lydgate had to say in dissipation of his fears, though this too was only repetition; and this moment in which Bulstrode was receiving a medical opinion with a sense of comfort, seemed to make the communication of a personal need to him easier than it had been in Lydgate's contemplation beforehand. He had been insisting that it would be well for Mr.

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And his savings had been so constantly drawn upon (besides the terrible sweep of paying for Seth's substitute in the militia) that he had not enough money beforehand to furnish even a small cottage, and keep something in reserve against a rainy day.

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Having attained success and an established position in the world, he had long ago forgotten this feeling; but the habitual bent of feeling reasserted itself, and dread of his own cowardice proved even now so strong that Alexey Alexandrovitch spent a long while thinking over the question of dueling in all its aspects, and hugging the idea of a duel, though he was fully aware beforehand that he would never under any circumstances fight one.

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But, when they were once past the pay-place and tearing away for very life with their checks in their hands, and, above all, when they were fairly in the theatre, and seated in such places that they couldn't have had better if they had picked them out, and taken them beforehand, all this was looked upon as quite a capital joke, and an essential part of the entertainment.

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"I wish to goodness they would," said the butcher; "'twould save me a wonderful deal of harass, and I could suit my customers much better if I knew beforehand -- But there!

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If it should be observed, that a discretionary power, with a view to such contingencies, might be occasionally conferred upon the President, it may be answered in the first place, that it is questionable, whether, in a limited Constitution, that power could be delegated by law; and in the second place, that it would generally be impolitic beforehand to take any step which might hold out the prospect of impunity.

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He must have been anxious, though no doubt he had collected beforehand on the shores of the Gauls a store of information from the talk of traders, adventurers, fishermen, slave-dealers, pirates - all sorts of unofficial men connected with the sea in a more or less reputable way.

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For the second time, without the slightest apparent reason -- for the second time, without a word of warning beforehand -- Frank suddenly re-appeared at his father's cottage.

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