Meaning of former in English

former
adjective [ before noun ]
UK
/ˈfɔː.mər/ US
/ˈfɔːr.mɚ/

B1
of or in an earlier time; before the present time or in the past:

his former wife

a former employer
the former president of the United States
The luxury apartments are in a former factory.
The painting was then restored to its former glory (= returned to its original good condition).
It was a long time after the accident before he seemed like his former self (= behaved in the way he had before).

More examples

 We need a reference from your former employer.

 Australia and New Zealand are former British colonies.

 A large majority of the population is demanding the restoration of the former government.

 She stiffened when her former husband walked into the room.

 He's a former world heavyweight boxing champion.

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

former
noun [ S ]
UK
/ˈfɔː.mər/ US
/ˈfɔːr.mɚ/
the former
B2
the first of two people, things, or groups previously mentioned:

Of the two suggestions, I prefer the former.

Compare
latter noun

More examples
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

-former
suffix
UK
/ -fɔː.mər/ US
/ -fɔːr.mɚ/

a student of the stated class group:

sixth-formers (= students usually aged 16–18)

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

(Definition of former from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

former | AMERICAN DICTIONARY

former
adjective [ not gradable ]
US
/ˈfɔr·mər/

former adjective [not gradable] (EARLIER)

of an earlier time, but not now:

The former president lives on his ranch.

former
noun [ U ]
US
/ˈfɔr·mər/

former noun [U] (FIRST)

the first of two people, things, or groups previously mentioned:

Of the two suggestions, I prefer the former.

(Definition of former from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

former | BUSINESS ENGLISH

former
adjective [ before noun ]
UK
/ˈfɔːmər/ US

used to describe something that existed or happened in the past

HR
used to describe someone who had a particular position or job in the past:

former chairman/director/president He's a Washington-based health policy consultant and former insurance executive.
former colleague/employee/employer She was under investigation for allegedly defrauding her former employer out of $600,000.

(Definition of former from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

EXAMPLES OF FORMER
former
The former's domination rested on the principle of privilege by divine sanction and selection by birth.
From Cambridge English Corpus

The former's idealistically active audience confronts the latter's picture of passive consumers, which is no more than an abstraction.
From Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from the Cambridge English Corpus and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of
Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

More examples

Translations of former
in Spanish
antiguo, anterior…

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What is the pronunciation of former?

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formative
formatted
formatting
formed
former
formerly
Formica
formidable
formidably
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More meanings of former

All

 sixth-former

 the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

 opinion former, at opinion leader

 a shadow of its former self, at a shadow of your former self idiom

 a shadow of your former self idiom

 be a shadow of your former self idiom

See all meanings
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in the air, or carried by air or wind or by an aircraft

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