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 when the ball was lost, Shea Charles was often the only midfielder on hand to help sweep up ahead of the centre-backs. — Thom Harris, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Nashville has been the team to beat this season, sitting nine points ahead of Miami with 53 points and on pace to break Miami’s single-season points record (74) with 10 games remaining in the regular season. — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2026

China's embassy in Peru defended its trade and political ties this week ahead of Rubio's visit. — Marco Aquino, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026

Abraham and Szor spoke with Deadline ahead of their world premiere in Venice. — Zac Ntim, Deadline, 11 Sep. 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