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

After the game, manager Hinch spoke about planning the special moment ahead of Verlander’s official retirement with the help of Upton. — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2026

Minkoff will work with CEO van der Velden and the studio’s team over the coming months to develop the story, characters and screenplay ahead of production. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 26 Sep. 2026

One of the meteorologists who worked there was James Stagg, who went on to advise Allied leaders on the weather ahead of D-Day. — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 26 Sep. 2026

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara this week urged consumers to review their coverage and consider flood insurance ahead of a likely historic El Niño. — Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 26 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