afore
/əˈfoɹ/preposition, conjunction
afore is spelled A-F-O-R-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a preposition, afore means “Before; in advance of the time of” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in afore?
| Letters | 5: A-F-O-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 58,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is afore?
Afore appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,063rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce afore?
- US /əˈfoɹ/
- UK /əˈfɔː/
- /əˈfo(ː)ɹ/
Afore has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-afore.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-afore.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with afore?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as afore from its last stressed vowel (/oɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does afore mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
preposition
- 1
Before; in advance of the time of.
- 2
Before; situated geographically or metaphorically in front of.
conjunction
- 1
In advance of the time when; before.
adverb
- 1
archaicBefore, temporally.
- 2
archaicBefore, in front, spatially.
- 3
archaicIn the fore part of a ship.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Afore in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense previously:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sus- |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does afore come from?
From Middle English afore, aforn, from Old English onforan or ætforan; equivalent to a- + fore.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).