come before

come before (third-person singular simple present comes before, present participle coming before, simple past came before, past participle come before)

1. (transitive) To appear publicly in front of someone superior.

   He was summoned to come before the king.

2. (transitive) to be of greater importance (than)

   Looking out for your family should come before making money.

3. (transitive) to be judged, decided or discussed by authority.

   Jones' behavior will come before the board of directors.

4. (transitive) To precede.

   F comes before G in the alphabet.

• (precede): forego; see also Thesaurus:precede