ahead

Meanings

1. 1adverbafter a verb

   in front of you, or further forward than a particular place or person

   Grammar: Used after a verb or at the end of a phrase: She walked ahead.

   Patterns

   • ahead of someone
   • straight ahead
   • further ahead

   The path ahead was narrow and dark.

   She looked ahead and saw a small bridge.

   He was a few steps ahead of me.

2. 2adverbafter a verb

   into the future, or at a later time

   Grammar: Often used with time words: the years ahead, the week ahead.

   Patterns

   • the days ahead
   • plan ahead
   • look ahead

   We need to plan ahead for the winter.

   The months ahead will be busy.

   Looking ahead, I think prices will rise.

3. 3adverbafter a verb

   further advanced than someone or something else, especially in a competition or task

   Grammar: Often followed by 'of' or 'in': ahead of the others, ahead in the race.

   Patterns

   • ahead of someone
   • ahead in something
   • stay ahead

   Our team is two goals ahead.

   She is ahead of the other students in math.

   The company is ahead of its competitors.

4. 4adverbafter a verb

   earlier than a planned time

   Grammar: Used with time expressions: ahead of schedule, ahead of time.

   Patterns

   • ahead of schedule
   • ahead of time

   The project finished ahead of schedule.

   We arrived ahead of time.

   He always completes his work ahead of the deadline.

Common combinations

go ahead

You can go ahead and start without me.

ahead of time

Please let me know ahead of time if you can't come.

straight ahead

The station is straight ahead.

plan ahead

It's wise to plan ahead for busy periods.

ahead of schedule

The bridge was built ahead of schedule.

look ahead

We should look ahead to next year's costs.

Synonyms and how they differ

forward

Forward means toward the front, often with movement; ahead focuses on position in front or in the future.

in front

In front is used for physical position only, not for time or progress.

before

Before means earlier in time, but ahead often means into the future or in a leading position.

Opposites

Commonly confused: ahead or a head?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “ahead”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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