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

Finally, early December, after Thanksgiving and ahead of the holidays, can be a quieter visiting season. —Marina Watts, PEOPLE, 14 Jan. 2026

Any political commentary was mostly relegated to red carpet interviews ahead of the ceremony, where both nominee Mark Ruffalo, winner Jean Smart and presenter Wanda Sykes took the opportunity to share their thoughts on current affairs. —Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 14 Jan. 2026

Rain looks most likely at first, with temperatures mild ahead of the system, before colder air works in Wednesday night. —Andrew Kozak, CBS News, 13 Jan. 2026

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, 13 Jan. 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