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

Larson was one of the four drivers including Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and William Byron in contention for the title, but Larson managed to finish in third position, ahead of the other three contenders to claim the championship. —Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025

Vinesh Kanthan, who also joined the organization ahead of the 2024 season as a director of baseball operations, is now a senior director of baseball operations. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2025

Make your vehicle visible to others both ahead of you and behind you by using your low-beam headlights since this means your taillights will also be on. —Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 3 Nov. 2025

While Hamlin’s pit crew delivered with a timely pit stop, six other cars ahead of him took only two tires while three other cars stayed on track. —Jeff Gluck, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025

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