fore-pref.1. Before; earlier: foredoom.2. In front of; front: foredeck.[Middle English for-, fore-, from Old English, from fore, in front; see per in Indo-European roots.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.fore- prefix 1. before in time or rank: foresight; forefather; foreman. 2. at or near the front; before in place: forehead; forecourt. [Old English, from fore (adv)]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014fore1 (f?r, fo?r) adj. 1. situated in front of something else. 2. first in place, time, order, rank, etc.; forward; earlier. 3. a. of or pertaining to a foremast. b. being a sail, yard, boom, etc., or any rigging belonging to a fore lower mast or to some upper mast of a foremast. c. situated at or toward the bow of a vessel; forward. adv. 4. at or toward the bow of a vessel. 5. forward. 6. Obs. before. n. 7. the forepart of anything; front. 8. the fore, the foremast. prep., conj. 9. Also, ‘fore.Informal. before. Idioms: 1. fore and aft, in, at, or to both ends of a ship. 2. to the fore, into a conspicuous place or position; to or at the front. fore2 (f?r, fo?r) interj. (used as a cry of warning on a golf course to persons who are in danger of being struck by a ball in flight.) [1875?80; probably aph. variant of before] fore- a prefix meaning ?before? (in space, time, condition, etc.) ( forecast; foretaste; forewarn), ?front? (forehead; forefront), ?preceding? ( forefather), ?superior? (foreman). [comb. form representing Middle English, Old English fore in front, before, c. Old Saxon, Old High German fora, Gothic faura] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.