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

His music put melody and relatability ahead of acrobatics, and his overtures still had swagger. — Clover Hope, Pitchfork, 25 Oct. 2026

About 50 organizations have called for a protest against the far right on the sidelines of the two-day congress of Marine Le Pen's nationalist, anti-immigration party ahead of next spring's presidential election. — Elitsa Gadeva, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026

Now the Royals’ roster sits at 42 players ahead of free agency. — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 24 Oct. 2026

Showing strength on security is central to their campaigns ahead of the election on Tuesday. — Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 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