ahead of

preposition

1
: in front or advance of
2
: in excess of

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 Lori Shelton can’t fathom ever having the money to buy a home — and that’s a major reason why so many voters feel down on the economy ahead of this year’s presidential election. Josh Boak, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2024 Health insurance Check with your health insurance ahead of time. Suzie Glassman, Parents, 15 Mar. 2024 As alliances are formed ahead of the second round, the vote could go both ways. Katarina Hoije, Bloomberg.com, 15 Mar. 2024 But the overwhelming majority of the players ahead of Donald are ends and outside linebackers. Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Morning hours may be somewhat salvageable for outdoor plans ahead of rain chances favoring the afternoon into evening. A. Camden Walker, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 Debuting the remix as a part of her third LP, Fine Ho, Stay – released today – rather than a single ahead of time smartly draws fans into the whole body of work and ensured the viral hit didn’t oversaturate us before the album dropped. Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2024 Related video Putin ramps up nuclear rhetoric ahead of Russian election The news comes after sources told CNN last month that Russia is trying to develop a nuclear space weapon that could potentially cripple a vast swath of commercial and government satellites. Radina Gigova, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 The Milwaukee Election Commission is seeking a nearly $800,000 private grant for election equipment ahead of the November presidential election that is expected to again pit President Joe Biden against former President Donald Trump. Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 14 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ahead of.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of ahead of was in 1613

Dictionary Entries Near ahead of

Cite this Entry

“Ahead of.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ahead%20of. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ahead of

preposition
: in or at a place or time before
got ahead of me
we're ahead of schedule
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!