beforehand

adverb or adjective

be·​fore·​hand bi-ˈfȯr-ˌhand 

bē-

1

a

: in anticipation

b

: in advance

2

: ahead of time : early

Synonyms

• early
• inopportunely
• precociously
• prematurely
• unseasonably

Examples of beforehand in a Sentence

if you arrive beforehand, we won't be entirely prepared yet

if you get ready beforehand, you won't have to rush at the last minute

Recent Examples on the Web

With one eye on tonight’s transfer deadline, the focus beforehand was the paucity of striking options available to Moyes after recent injuries to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Armando Broja. —Patrick Boyland, The Athletic, 3 Feb. 2025

Physical assets like Starlink terminals and AWS Snowballs should be in place beforehand. —Matt Kaplan, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2025

These are difficult shoes to make work (a sort of non-item anchoring an outfit to nothing), which, as anyone who lived through 2016 knows, will also function as a terrarium, in which varying bacteria flourish no matter the podiatric preening involved beforehand. —Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 31 Jan. 2025

When the Office of Management and Budget issued a sweeping order this week freezing trillions of dollars in federal grants and loans, senior White House officials had not reviewed it beforehand, according to sources familiar with the matter. —Katherine Faulders, ABC News, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

beforehand

adverb

be·​fore·​hand -ˌhand 

: ahead of time : in advance