get ahead
Britishverb
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to be successful; prosper
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(foll by of) to surpass or excel
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Succeed or make progress, especially in one's career or in society. For example, She put in many hours of overtime in order to get ahead . [c. 1800]
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Save a little money, as in After we settle the hospital bill, we hope to get ahead enough to buy a new car .
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get ahead of . Move in front of, as in I got ahead of her in line .
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get ahead of . Outdo, surpass, as in We were determined to get ahead of the competition . Also see ahead of the game .
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.
For this group, “the importance of building a good foundation and saving to get ahead of rising costs will have set in,” Bohmfalk said.
From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026
J&J tried to get ahead by joining up with Kelonia, a startup that engineered a virus to selectively target T cells inside the body.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
And yet Evans doesn’t want to get ahead of himself.
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
"Overall I can't tell what research they are doing and how if shared with us it could help us get ahead," Nadella wrote.
From Barron's • May 11, 2026
After all, it was the last time Nicole would get ahead of her.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
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.
