In addition to the uses shown below, ahead is used in phrasal verbs such as 'get ahead', 'go ahead', and 'press ahead'.
1. adverb [ADVERB after verb, noun ADVERB]
Something that is ahead is in front of you. If you look ahead, you look directly in front of you.
Brett looked straight ahead.
I peered ahead through the front screen.
The road ahead was now blocked solid.
Ahead, I saw the only tree for miles.
Synonyms: in front, on, forwards, in advance More Synonyms of ahead
2. adverb [ADVERB after verb]
You use ahead with verbs such as 'push', 'move', and 'forge' to indicate that a plan, scheme, or organization is making fast progress.
We are moving ahead with plans to send financial aid.
Now BBC World Television is forging ahead on its own.
3. adverb [beADVERB, ADVERB after verb]
If you are ahead in your work or achievements, you have made more progress than you expected to and are performing well.
Western economies have sprinted ahead in the last twenty years.
First half profits have charged ahead from £127.6m to £134.2m.
Children in small classes are several months ahead in reading. [+ in]
Synonyms: at an advantage, in advance, in the lead More Synonyms of ahead
4. adverb [beADVERB, ADVERB after verb]
If a person or a team is ahead in a competition, they are winning.
Australia were ahead throughout the game.
Scotland were ahead in their European championship qualifier in Iceland.
A goal would have put Dublin 6-1 ahead.
Synonyms: in the lead, winning, leading, at the head More Synonyms of ahead
5. adverb [v-link ADV, ADVERB after verb, noun ADVERB]
Ahead also means in the future.
A much bigger battle is ahead for the president.
There are uncertain and exciting times ahead.
Now I can remember without mourning, and begin to look ahead.
There will be many difficult and challenging days ahead.
The task ahead is huge.
6. adverb [ADVERB after verb]
If you prepare or plan something ahead, you do it some time before a future event so that everything is ready for that event to take place.
The government wants figures that help it to plan ahead.
Do book ahead as the restaurant is very popular.
Summer weddings need to be arranged months ahead.
7. adverb [ADVERB after verb]
If you go ahead, or if you go on ahead, you go in front of someone who is going to the same place so that you arrive there some time before they do.
I went ahead and waited with Sean.
You just go on ahead. I'll come by later.
I'd have to send Tina on ahead with Rachael.
Synonyms: in advance, in front, before, onwards More Synonyms of ahead
More Synonyms of ahead
ahead in British English
(əˈhɛd)
adjective
1. (postpositive)
in front; in advance
adverb
2.
at or in the front; in advance; before
3.
onwards; forwards
go straight ahead
4. ahead of
5. be ahead
6. get ahead
ahead in American English
(əˈhɛd)
adverb, adjective
1.
in or to the front
2.
forward; onward
3.
toward the future; in advance
4.
winning or leading
5.
having something as a profit or advantage
Idioms:
ahead of
get ahead
get ahead of
More idioms containing
ahead
ahead of the game
ahead of the pack
go full steam ahead
be streets ahead of something or someone
Examples of 'ahead' in a sentence
ahead
The step up in distance can only help and he looks some way ahead of the handicapper.
The Sun (2016)
Try to focus on a stable object straight ahead or just sleep.
The Sun (2016)
Spurs should have been ahead after two minutes.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We need the brightest and best people across all disciplines to stay ahead.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We went ahead but gave away a cheap freekick for their goal.
The Sun (2017)
So why are some places speeding ahead and others lagging behind?
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
What he was doing was centuries ahead of the time.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
It just looks and feels light years ahead of anything it has made before.
The Sun (2017)
The week ahead will see temperatures pick up again with Atlantic fronts set to bring in some rain.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Her party is still ten points ahead of the centre-left SPD.
The Sun (2016)
The reason we look three years ahead is to know what to accomplish now.
Christianity Today (2000)
They kept looking straight ahead and did not lock eyes with him.
The Sun (2011)
Reading have now dropped points in four league games after being ahead.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
You stay one step ahead at work and one move ahead when buying or selling.
The Sun (2013)
The key to avoiding this is in planning ahead.
The Sun (2009)
Yet he told lawyers to press ahead with the libel case.
The Sun (2014)
To get ahead is a really big thing.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The fans have the excitement of looking ahead.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You find answers to tricky questions and stay ahead of the game at work.
The Sun (2012)
Getting yourself ahead with carefully planned gifts must mean putting others behind.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Perhaps he was ahead of his time.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
So where should savvy buyers look to get in ahead of the curve?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Other property firms attempting to pass the hat round in weeks ahead will do well to follow suit.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Trying to book a flight a year ahead and being told that there are no available seats seems strange.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We had three good chances after they went ahead and we should have put at least two of them away.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Imagine you are comfortably ahead by 60 points.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She's got lots of good years ahead.
Martin, April The Guide to Lesbian and Gay Parenting (1993)
If you decide to go ahead, you should avoid taking it before surgery.
The Sun (2013)
We wanted to play more football when we were four points ahead but we just didn't have the energy.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The agreement means that the publication of the inquiry's final report is likely to take place well ahead of the next general election.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
ahead
British English: ahead /əˈhɛd/ ADVERB
Someone who is ahead of another person is in front of them.
My brother ran ahead of us.
American English: ahead
Arabic: إِلَى الأَمام
Brazilian Portuguese: adiante
Chinese: 在前面
Croatian: ispred
Czech: vpředu
Danish: forude
Dutch: vooruit
European Spanish: por delante
Finnish: edessä
French: devant
German: vorn
Greek: εμπρός
Italian: avanti
Japanese: 前に
Korean: 앞쪽에
Norwegian: foran
Polish: naprzód
European Portuguese: à frente de
Romanian: înainte
Russian: впереди
Latin American Spanish: por delante
Swedish: före
Thai: แซง อยู่หน้า
Turkish: önde
Ukrainian: попереду
Vietnamese: ở phía trước
All related terms of 'ahead'
ahead of
If someone is ahead of you, they are directly in front of you. If someone is moving ahead of you, they are in front of you and moving in the same direction .
be ahead
to have an advantage ; be winning
get ahead
If you want to get ahead , you want to be successful in your career .
go ahead
If someone goes ahead with something, they begin to do it or make it, especially after planning , promising , or asking permission to do it.
put ahead
to reset the hands of (a clock ) to a later time
forge ahead
If you forge ahead with something, you continue with it and make a lot of progress with it.
line ahead
a formation adopted by a naval unit for manoeuvring
look ahead
If you look ahead , you think about what is going to happen in the future and perhaps make plans for the future.
power ahead
If an economy or company powers ahead , it becomes stronger and more successful .
press ahead
push ahead
If you push ahead or push forward with something, you make progress with it.
steam ahead
If an economy or company steams ahead , it becomes stronger and more successful .
get ahead of
to outdo or excel
straight-ahead
not complex ; straightforward ; uncomplicated
the go-ahead
permission to proceed
ahead of time
If you do something ahead of time , you do it before a particular event or before you need to, in order to be well prepared .
full steam ahead
If something such as a plan or a project goes full steam ahead , it progresses quickly.
streets ahead of
superior to, more advanced than, etc
ahead of the curve
People, products or ideas that are ahead of the curve are more advanced or modern than others of their kind .
ahead of the game
well prepared to deal with any change that happens in the activity that you are involved in
ahead of the pack
more successful than your competitors or rivals
go full steam ahead
to start to carry out a particular project in a thorough and determined way
press on
If you press on or press ahead , you continue with a task or activity in a determined way, and do not allow any problems or difficulties to delay you.
be streets ahead of sb
If someone is streets ahead of you, they are much better at something than you are.
ahead of the pack/leading the pack
You can say that someone is ahead of the pack or leading the pack if they are ahead of everyone else in a race or competition .
ahead of your time before one's time
If someone is ahead of their time or before their time , they have new ideas a long time before other people start to think in the same way .
one step ahead of someone or something
If you stay one step ahead of someone or something, you manage to achieve more than they do or avoid competition or danger from them.
be streets ahead of something or someone
to be much better than something or someone else
Chinese translation of 'ahead'
ahead
(əˈhɛd)
adv
(= in front) (of place) 在前地 (zàiqián de)
(in work, achievements) 提前地 (tíqián de)
(in competition) 领(領)先地 (lǐngxiān de)
(= in the future) 在未来(來) (zài wèilái)
the days/months ahead今后(後)几(幾)天/几(幾)个(個)月 (jīnhòu jǐ tiān/jǐ gè yuè)
to think/plan ahead事先考虑(慮)/计(計)划(劃) (shìxiān kǎolǜ/jìhuà)
ahead of (= in front of) 在 ... 之前 (zài ... zhīqián) (= before in time) 在 ... 面前 (zài ... miànqián) (= in advance of)[event]预(預)先 (yùxiān) (in ranking, progress) 领(領)先 (lǐngxiān)
ahead of time/schedule提前 (tíqián)
to get ahead of sb (= in front of) 超过(過)某人 (chāoguò mǒurén) (in progress) 超越 (chāoyuè)
a year ahead (= in advance) 提前一年 (tíqián yī nián)
to send sb (on) ahead送某人先走 (sòng mǒurén xiān zǒu)
to go (on) ahead先走 (xiān zǒu)
right or straight ahead (direction) 笔(筆)直向前 (bǐzhí xiàngqián) (location) 正前方 (zhèng qiánfāng)