Meanings
- not comparableAt or towards the front; in the direction one is facing or moving.
Keep going straight ahead.
2 more examples
The island was directly ahead.
Just ahead you can see the cliffs.
- not comparableSo as to be further advanced, either spatially or in an abstract sense; to be superior.
He finished two laps ahead of me.
1 more example
In all of his classes Jack was ahead.
- not comparableIn or for the future.
There may be tough times ahead.
1 more example
You've got to think ahead so as not to be unprepared.
- not comparableTo a later time.
Set the clock ahead an hour.
3 more examples
Push the deadline ahead a day, from the 20th to the 21st.
Then the customer would set a rebidding deadline ahead a month - for example from September 1 to October 1 - and give everybody four weeks to submit […]
1995, Charles Edward Weber, Stories of Virtue in Business, University Press of America, →ISBN, page 55When we saw that wasn't working in 1976, we moved the deadline ahead to 1978.
1998, United States House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Department Operations, Nutrition, and Foreign Agriculture, Implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Nutrition, and Foreign Agriculture of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session, June 25, 1998, page 46 - not comparableTo an earlier time.
Push the deadline ahead a day, from the 21st to the 20th.
2 more examples
[…] committees in Congress hae a March 15 deadline for reporting their "views and estimates" to the budget committees. The Senate Republican leadership, eager to get a jump on the annual budget process, moved the deadline ahead to March 1 for Senate committees.
1985, Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, volume 43, page 606[…] the Department is responding to the statutory requirement in the USA Patriot Act that moved the deadline ahead to 2003 from 2007.
2003, United States House Committee on Government Reform, Smooth Sailing Or an Impending Wreck?: The Impact of New Visa and Passport Requirements on Foreign Travel to the United States : Hearing Before the Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session, July 10, 2003, page 113
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivehaving the leading position or higher score in a contest
adverbahead of time; in anticipation
adverbleading or ahead in a competition
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From a- + head. Perhaps originally a nautical term, beyond the head (of a ship), then drifting into more general English usage where it is used to describe something as being in front of.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian отпред, напред
- отпред (otpred)in or to the front
- напред (napred)in or to the front
Catalan en front de, al davant de
- en front dein or to the front
- al davant dein or to the front
- davantin or to the front
Dutch voor ons, vooruit
- voor onsin or to the front
- vooruitin or to the front
- vooropin or to the front
Esperanto antaŭe
- antaŭein or to the front
Finnish edellä, edessä
- edelläin or to the front
- edessäin or to the front
- edelläso as to be further advanced
- edessäin or for the future
- ennaltain or for the future
- etuajassaat an earlier time
French devant
- devantin or to the front
German vorn, voraus
- vornin or to the front
- vorausin or to the front
Hebrew מֵרֹאשׁ
- מֵרֹאשׁ (merósh)at an earlier time
Italian avanti, avanti
- avantiin or to the front
- avantiso as to be further advanced
- anticipatamentein or for the future
- al futuroin or for the future
- anzitempoin or for the future
- antecedentementeat an earlier time
- in anticipoat an earlier time
Japanese 先に
- 先に (saki ni)in or to the front
Norwegian Bokmål foran, foran
- foranin or to the front
- foranso as to be further advanced
- fremforso as to be further advanced
- fremoverin or for the future
- fremoverto a later time
- foroverto a later time
- forskuddsvisat an earlier time
- på forskuddat an earlier time
- på forhåndat an earlier time
Polish z przodu
- z przoduin or to the front
Portuguese à frente, para frente
- à frentein or to the front
- para frentein or to the front
- ahdiantadoat an earlier time
Romanian înainte, în fața
- înaintein or to the front
- în fațain or to the front
Russian вперёд, впереди́
- вперёд (vperjód)in or to the front
- впереди́ (vperedí)in or to the front
Spanish al frente de, delante de
- al frente dein or to the front
- delante dein or to the front
- adelantein or to the front
Ukrainian впере́д, попе́реду
- впере́д (vperéd)in or to the front
- попе́реду (popéredu)in or to the front
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with ahead
Cite this entry
ahead. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ahead
“ahead.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ahead. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ahead,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ahead.
Source: ahead on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.