before and after

A form of before-and-after — Describing a pair of images showing the difference made by a specified treatment

Meanings

adjectivebefore and after (not comparable)
  1. alternativenot comparableAlternative form of before-and-after.

    The book comes complete with a CD containing a PDF document presenting summaries of the treatment of each individual vessel complete with large before and after images.

    2006 November, James Hales, “[Reviews] Books”, in Lynette Gill, editor, Icon News, number 7, London: Institute of Conservation, →ISSN, page 41, column 3
    2 more examples

    First, make some notes and take a photograph. Before and after pictures are always interesting and will serve to remind you of what you began with. Such pictures will eventually build a fascinating portfolio of your earlier work.

    2000, David James, “Planning”, in Upholstery Tips and Hints, Lewes, East Sussex: Guild of Master Craftsman Publications Ltd, →ISBN, page 103

    When the day had come to begin the begin the process of his transformation, he had cameras for before and after shots and really set this glamorous picture of the life of theater.

    2020, Leah Lovelace-Square, “The Wilderness”, in The Silent Victim: Testimony of a Nobody, Tustin, Calif.: Trilogy Christian Publishers, Trinity Broadcasting Network, →ISBN, page 51
nounbefore and after (plural before and afters)

plural before and afters

  1. alternativeAlternative form of before-and-after.

    We do many before and afters at Cosmo with models (who don't look all that great before the makeup, incidentally) and civilians, and none of them ever continues to do the “after” makeup on a regular basis.

    1993, Helen Gurley Brown, The Late Show: A Semiwild but Practical Survival Plan for Women over 50, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow and Company, Inc., →ISBN, page 103
    2 more examples

    I did have a lot of before and after shots: with and without a filter; with the correct exposure and one stop over-exposed; with the light to my back and the light to my side. I showed them these before and afters and told them I thought they’d make a good article.

    2004, Vik Orenstein, quoting Bryan Peterson, Photographer’s Market Guide to Building Your Photography Business: Everything You Need to Know to Run a Successful Photography Business, Cincinnati, Oh.: Writer’s Digest Books, →ISBN, page 45

    We shared a few photos of our first home’s transformation in the preface, but sometimes before and afters can be dangerous. Why? Well, they can make it seem like those rooms instantly came together and the makeover happened at warp speed just because you saw the before and the after in such rapid succession.

    2012, Sherry Petersik, John Petersik, Young House Love: 243 Ways to Paint, Craft, Update & Show Your Home Some Love, New York, N.Y.: Artisan, →ISBN, page 16, column 1
Cite this entry
APA

before and after. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/before%20and%20after

MLA

“before and after.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/before%20and%20after. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “before and after,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/before%20and%20after.

Source: before and after on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.