Earlier tidal wave carrying energy and force (6)
I believe the answer is:
before
'earlier' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'tidal wave carrying energy and force' is the wordplay.
'tidal wave' becomes 'bore' (I've seen this before).
'carrying' indicates putting letters inside.
'energy' becomes 'e' (physics symbol as in E=mco).
'and' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'force' becomes 'f' (symbol used in Physics e.g. f=ma).
'e'+'f'='ef'
'bore' going around 'ef' is 'BEFORE'.
(Other definitions for before that I've seen before include "On a previous occasion" , "In front of or previous to" , "Previously ? in front" , "Prior to" , "Earlier than something" .)