ahead

adverb or adjective

ə-ˈhed 

1

a

: in a forward direction or position : forward

b

: in front

2

: in, into, or for the future

plan ahead

3

: in or toward a more advantageous position

helped others to get ahead

4

: at or to an earlier time : in advance

make payments ahead

5

a

: in or into a leading position in a race or competition

a politician who is running ahead in most polls

Josh Carter scored from a yard out and the Pride added a two-point conversion to surge ahead 14-7.

—Cumberland (Maryland) Times-News

b baseball

(1)

of a pitcher : in or into the situation of having thrown more strikes than balls to a batter

Home run threat Mark Reynolds was up next with the bases loaded, but Colon quickly got ahead 1-2 in the count and struck the third baseman out swinging with a … fastball.

—Ray Monell

(2)

of a batter : in or into the situation of having a count of more balls than strikes

Albert Pujols got ahead 3-1 and then lined one into the seats in left for his 20th home run of the year and second of the series.

—John Fay

Synonyms

• afore [chiefly dialect]
• already
• antecedently
• anteriorly
• before
• beforehand
• earlier
• formerly
• preliminarily
• previously

Examples of ahead in a Sentence

call ahead for reservations

sent me ahead to get a place in the check-out line while she went to get the eggs and milk

the line moved ahead at a snail's pace

Recent Examples on the Web

Three snaps after Daniels’ touchdown throw to McLaurin, Goff overthrew his intended target, and Martin intercepted it and took it to the end zone, putting the Commanders ahead 24-14. —Larry Lage, Chicago Tribune, 19 Jan. 2025

Moments after that, Holiday fouled Trae Young near halfcourt with the Celtics ahead by two points. —Jay King, The Athletic, 19 Jan. 2025

As the Chiefs showed last year, the Ravens are a team that needs to play from ahead. —Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 19 Jan. 2025

That said, there will be a new moon in your sign on Jan. 29, offering you a powerful opportunity to set intentions for the year ahead — this is your fresh start so be sure to focus on goals that align with your future visions. —Valerie Mesa, People.com, 19 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1568, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing ahead

• ahead of
• ahead of one's/its time
• ahead of one's time
• ahead of schedule
• ahead of the curve
• ahead of the game
• ahead of time
• a/one step ahead of
• are/keep/stay one jump ahead
• dead ahead
• full steam/speed ahead
• get ahead
• given the go-ahead
• go-ahead
• go ahead with (something)
• going full speed ahead
• lie ahead
• light-years ahead
• look ahead
• move ahead/along
• plow ahead
• pull ahead
• received/got the go-ahead
• stay/keep ahead of the field
• straight-ahead
• streets ahead of
• the go-ahead
• think ahead

Kids Definition

ahead

adverb or adjective

ə-ˈhed 

1

: in or toward the front

the road ahead

go ahead

2

: in, into, or for the future

think ahead

3

: in or toward a better position

came out $20 ahead on the deal

4

: at or to an earlier time : in advance

make payments ahead