ahead of

preposition

1

: in front or advance of

They were ahead of us in line.

2

: in excess of

Synonyms of ahead of

• before
• prior to
• in advance of
• to

Examples of ahead of in a Sentence

She got ahead of me.

They went on ahead of us and by now are several miles ahead of us.

We have some hard work ahead of us.

The polls show that he is ahead of the other candidates.

The company is working hard to stay one step ahead of the competition.

They were trailing us by 5 points earlier in the game, but now they're ahead of us by 7.

Recent Examples on the Web

Seager is good enough to push, and keep, the Rangers ahead of the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros to stay in first place. — Mac Engel july 31, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Aug. 2026

The school is in the due diligence period and aims to close on the property soon ahead of renovation work to turn office space back into classrooms for the 2027-28 school year. — Chris Higgins, Kansas City Star, 1 Aug. 2026

And rookie Andrew Painter allowed two runs in six innings in his first start since June 17 on a night Philadelphia began still two games ahead of San Diego for the final NL wild card place. — CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026

Republicans had hoped to show clear progress on affordability to voters ahead of the midterms. — ABC News, 1 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for ahead of

• above
• foxglove
• hereof
• thereof
• whereof
• dove
• glove
• love
• shove
• hereinabove

Kids Definition

ahead of

preposition

: in or at a place or time before

got ahead of me

we're ahead of schedule