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

In June, the group opened a series of arena dates ahead of Turnpike Troubadours and Muscadine Bloodline. — Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 3 Oct. 2026

Kuzmenko addressed the media at the team's practice facility ahead of Saturday's game against the Montreal Canadiens. — Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026

Relaunched three years ago, the label is now preparing to reenter Europe, with European retail partners having seen the latest collection in Milan ahead of Paris. — Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 3 Oct. 2026

One theory focuses on political considerations — that extending the deportation reprieve could have made the administration appear weak on immigration to its conservative base, just ahead of next month’s consequential midterm election. — Andrea Castillo, Los Angeles Times, 3 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