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.
I saw a man in a blue jacket thirty metres ahead of me.
She walked ahead of Helene up the steps into the hotel.
Synonyms: before, in front of, in advance of More Synonyms of ahead of
2. phrase
If an event or period of time lies ahead of you, it is going to happen or take place soon or in the future.
I tried to think about all the problems that were ahead of me tomorrow.
She spent all night thinking about the future that lay ahead of her.
We have a very busy day ahead of us today.
Synonyms: in wait for, before, waiting for, awaiting More Synonyms of ahead of
3. phrase
In a competition, if a person or team does something ahead of someone else, they do it before the second person or team.
Robertson's team crossed five metres ahead of their rivals.
4. prepositional phrase
If something happens ahead of an event or time, it happens before that event or time.
The Prime Minister was speaking ahead of today's meeting.
5. phrase
If something happens ahead of schedule or ahead of time, it happens earlier than was planned.
The election was held six months ahead of schedule.
This dish may be prepared a day ahead of time and refrigerated.
Synonyms: before, prior to, earlier than, in advance of More Synonyms of ahead of
6. phrase
If someone is ahead of someone else, they have made more progress and are more advanced in what they aredoing.
Henry generally stayed ahead of the others in the academic subjects.
Synonyms: further on, in front of, superior to, further advanced More Synonyms of ahead of
7. one step ahead of someone or something
8. ahead of your time
ahead of in British English
a.
in front of; at a further advanced position than
b.
before; at an earlier time than
c. stock exchange
in anticipation of
the share price rose ahead of the annual figures
See full dictionary entry for ahead
ahead of in British English
(əˈhɛd əv)
preposition
1.
directly in front of someone, with a gap between you and them
I saw a man in a blue jacket thirty metres ahead of me.
I saw a man ahead of me.
She walked ahead of Helen up the steps into the hotel.
They were right ahead of us.
2.
if an event or a period of time lies ahead of you, it is going to take place soon, or in the future
Catherine had been awake all night thinking about the future that lay ahead of her.
we have a very busy day ahead of us
all the problems that were ahead of me
3.
if a person or team does something ahead of someone else in a competition, they do it before them
Millar finished 1 minute and 35 seconds ahead of the Frenchman.
Labour is 2% ahead of the Conservatives.
Don't let the other car get ahead of us.
4.
before something happens
The Prime Minister was speaking ahead of today's meeting.
The election was held six months ahead of schedule.
we finished the work ahead of schedule
5. ahead of time
6.
having made more progress than someone else
Henry generally stayed ahead of the class in maths.
Other countries are ahead of us in computer technology.
ahead of in American English
in advance of; before
See full dictionary entry for ahead
Examples of 'ahead of' in a sentence
ahead of
So if you want to stay ahead of the game, you will love this challenge.
The Sun (2012)
All related terms of 'ahead of'
get ahead of
to outdo or excel
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 .
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
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.