fore1

[fawr, fohr] /fɔr, foʊr/
adjective
1.
situated at or toward the front, as compared with something else.
2.
first in place, time, order, rank, etc.; forward; earlier.
3.
Nautical.
  1. of or pertaining to a foremast.
  2. noting a sail, yard, boom, etc., or any rigging belonging to a fore lower mast or to some upper mast of a foremast.
  3. noting any stay running aft and upward to the head of a fore lower mast or to some specified upper mast of a foremast:
    fore topmast stay.
  4. situated at or toward the bow of a vessel; forward.
adverb
4.
Nautical. at or toward the bow.
5.
forward.
6.
Obsolete, before.
noun
7.
the forepart of anything; front.
8.
the fore, Nautical. the foremast.
preposition, conjunction
9.
Also, 'fore. Informal. before.
Idioms
10.
fore and aft, Nautical. in, at, or to both ends of a ship.
11.
to the fore,
  1. into a conspicuous place or position; to or at the front.
  2. at hand; ready; available.
  3. still alive.
Origin
by construal of fore- as an adj., hence nominalized; fore and aft perhaps as translation of Dutch or Low German; sense “before” (defs 6, 9) perhaps continuation of Middle English, Old English fore in this sense, or as aphetic form of afore

fore2

[fawr, fohr] /fɔr, foʊr/
interjection, Golf.
1.
(used as a cry of warning to persons on a course who are in danger of being struck by the ball.)
Origin
1875-80; probably aphetic variant of before

fore-

1.
a prefix meaning “before” (in space, time, condition, etc.), “front,” “superior,” etc.:
forehead; forecastle; forecast; foretell; foreman.
Origin
combining form representing Middle English, Old English for(e)
Examples from the web for fore
  • The existence of the football team comes to the fore at two junctures in the history of a college.
  • But nascent nationalism has now returned to the fore.
  • And one other interesting bit of anatomy about this new animal is its limbs, its fore and hind limbs.
  • fore more information, contact the event organizers.
  • Now that the communist government is loosening its policies, ancient village rituals and alliances are returning to the fore.
  • The chop in the water causes the boat to pitch fore and aft.
  • The growing clout of the old helps explain the way some issues have come to the fore recently.
  • One tips the crab side to side with the center legs while the other two control the fore and aft legs.
  • Several factors have brought the question of overseas aid to the fore.
  • These questions cry out for research, but unfortunately politics has come to the fore.
British Dictionary definitions for fore

fore1

/fɔː/
adjective
1.
(usually in combination) located at, in, or towards the front: the forelegs of a horse
noun
2.
the front part
3.
something located at, in, or towards the front
4.
short for foremast
5.
fore and aft, located at or directed towards both ends of a vessel: a fore-and-aft rig
6.
to the fore
  1. to or into the front or conspicuous position
  2. (Scot & Irish) alive or active: is your grandfather still to the fore?
adverb
7.
at or towards a ship's bow
8.
(obsolete) before
preposition, conjunction
9.
a less common word for before
Word Origin
Old English; related to Old Saxon, Old High German fora, Gothic faura, Greek para, Sanskrit pura

fore2

/fɔː/
interjection
1.
(in golf) a warning shout made by a player about to make a shot
Word Origin
C19: probably short for before

fore-

prefix
1.
before in time or rank: foresight, forefather, foreman
2.
at or near the front; before in place: forehead, forecourt
Word Origin
Old English, from fore (adv)
Word Origin and History for fore
adv.

Old English fore (prep.) "before, in front of;" (adv.) "before, previously," common Germanic (cf. Old High German fora, Old Frisian fara, German vor, Gothic faiura, Old Norse fyrr "for"); from PIE *pr-, from root *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per).

As a noun, from 1630s. The warning cry in golf is first recorded 1878, probably a contraction of before.

adj.

mid-15c., "forward;" late 15c., "former, earlier;" early 16c., "at the front;" all senses apparently from fore- compounds, which frequently were written as two words in Middle English.

fore-

from fore (adv.), which was used as a prefix in Old English and other Germanic languages with a sense of "before in time, rank, position," etc., or designating the front part or earliest time.

Idioms and Phrases with fore

fore

In addition to the idioms beginning with fore fore and aft also see: to the fore