ahead
Americanadverb
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in or to the front; in advance of; before.
Walk ahead of us.
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in a forward direction; onward; forward.
The line of cars moved ahead slowly.
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into or for the future.
Plan ahead.
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so as to register a later time.
to set the clock ahead.
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at or to a different time, either earlier or later.
to push a deadline ahead one day from Tuesday to Monday; to push a deadline ahead one day from Tuesday to Wednesday.
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onward toward success; to a more advantageous position; upward in station.
There's a young man who is sure to get ahead.
idioms
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ahead of,
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in front of; before.
He ran ahead of me.
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superior to; beyond.
materially ahead of other countries.
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in advance of; at an earlier time than.
We got there ahead of the other guests.
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be ahead,
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to be winning.
Our team is ahead by two runs.
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to be in a position of advantage; be benefiting.
His score in mathematics is poor, but he's ahead in foreign languages.
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adjective
adverb
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at or in the front; in advance; before
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onwards; forwards
go straight ahead
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in front of; at a further advanced position than
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stock exchange in anticipation of
the share price rose ahead of the annual figures
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informal to have an advantage; be winning
to be ahead on points
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to advance or attain success
Etymology
Origin of ahead
Explanation
When you're ahead, you're further along or further forward. If you're ahead of all the other runners in a race, you're winning. The team at the very front of a three-legged race is ahead, and the path that stretches in front of you as you walk through the woods is ahead of you. As well as signifying being physically first or in front, ahead can be used to talk about time: "She had her whole life ahead of her." The word was first used by sailors, to mean "in a forward direction."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The suit was settled just ahead of the Federal Communications Commission clearing the way for the takeover of Paramount by David Ellison’s Skydance Media.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
Mullin faced the Senate Appropriations Committee amid scrutiny over the agency’s budget and immigration enforcement ahead of the World Cup.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026
The spillover implications of Google’s equity market foray are myriad, coming just days ahead of SpaceX’s $2 trillion IPO and the planned flotations of AI startups Anthropic and OpenAI.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
Now, long-range forecasts from the Met Office and MeteoGroup – the latter being providers of BBC Weather data - suggest the summer ahead will bring the risk of additional heatwaves.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
When they crested the knoll, Clare bounded ahead to unlatch the garden gate, gesturing Gingersnipes inside.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
