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

Fabian Ruiz, scorer of Spain’s opening goal, also provides those runs from deep, which may explain his surprise inclusion ahead of Barcelona midfielder Pedri, but not to the same extent as Merino. — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 11 July 2026

His efforts dragged him into a love triangle with Annis and her former partner, Corbin Mims, which ultimately left Caleb single ahead of Casa Amor, the show’s midseason twist. — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 10 July 2026

The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have surged ahead of the Washington Post in all of the metrics in recent years. — Andrew Lack, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026

IndieWire shares the exclusive trailer for this extraordinary must-see ahead of its summer re-release in theaters. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 10 July 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