adverb
- in or to the front; in advance of; before: Walk ahead of us.
- in a forward direction; onward; forward: The line of cars moved ahead slowly.
- into or for the future: Plan ahead.
- so as to register a later time: to set the clock ahead.
- 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.
- onward toward success; to a more advantageous position; upward in station: There’s a young man who is sure to get ahead.
- ahead of,
- in front of; before: He ran ahead of me.
- superior to; beyond: materially ahead of other countries.
- in advance of; at an earlier time than: We got there ahead of the other guests.
- be ahead,
- to be winning: Our team is ahead by two runs.
- to be in a position of advantage; be benefiting: His score in mathematics is poor, but he’s ahead in foreign languages.
adjective
- (postpositive) in front; in advance
adverb
- at or in the front; in advance; before
- onwards; forwardsgo straight ahead
- ahead of
- in front of; at a further advanced position than
- stock exchangein anticipation ofthe share price rose ahead of the annual figures
- be ahead informal to have an advantage; be winningto be ahead on points
- get ahead to advance or attain success
1620s, “at the head, in front,” from a- “on” (see a- (1)) + head (n.). Originally nautical. To be ahead of (one’s) time attested by 1837.
In addition to the idioms beginning with ahead
- ahead of one’s time
- ahead of the game
- ahead of time
also see:
- come out ahead
- dead ahead
- full speed ahead
- get ahead
- go ahead
- one jump ahead
- quit while one’s ahead