before

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.

However, they can migrate to the ocean and become steelhead, where they typically grow larger before returning to their natal waters to spawn.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

If approved, the policy would introduce consistent standards across the county for the first time, replacing a mix of approaches that existed before the council was created in 2023, a council spokesperson said.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026

It can’t, because the institutions that might anchor it—codified term limits, intraparty democracy, collective leadership norms—were either never established or were already hollowed out before he arrived.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

Pulte’s grandfather, at one point one of the wealthiest men in the world, built a Fortune 500 company and gave tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars to charity before his 2018 death.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2026

Our land rush is over before it’s begun.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes