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

But the reality is that Rozeboom wasn’t going to start again — not with top-of-the-free-agent market LB Devin Lloyd and Panthers 2024 draft pick Trevin Wallace ahead of him. —Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 30 Mar. 2026

The goal is to complete the project ahead of the FIFA World Cup, when traffic and pedestrian activity are expected to increase downtown. —Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Mar. 2026

Detroit has lost three of four and is now tied with Ottawa, two points ahead of the Flyers and one point behind the Blue Jackets. —CBS News, 29 Mar. 2026

Jerusalem’s major holy sites are shuttered and families are dejected and exhausted ahead of Passover and Easter as the Iran war enters its fifth week. —ABC News, 29 Mar. 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