pull ahead

verb

To move into a winning position (e.g. in a race or competition).

“After being neck-and-neck the whole race, Gibbs managed to pull ahead in the final lap.”

Meanings

verbpull ahead (third-person singular simple present pulls ahead, present participle pulling ahead, simple past and past participle pulled ahead)

present singular third person pulls ahead · participle present pulling ahead · participle past pulled ahead · past pulled ahead

  1. idiomaticintransitiveTo move into a winning position (e.g. in a race or competition).

    After being neck-and-neck the whole race, Gibbs managed to pull ahead in the final lap.

    1 more example

    The 1833 Slavery Abolition Act had abolished slavery completely in the British Empire, and this, along with the fact that the Empire's military and economic might was beginning to pull even further ahead of other nations', thanks in part to the Industrial Revolution, saw the squadron expand to around twenty-five ships (regularly having to be swapped out because of the high incidence of tropical disease)[…]

    2018 December 1, Drachinifel, 7:26 from the start, in Anti-Slavery Patrols - The West Africa Squadron, archived from the original on 29 Nov 2024

Synonyms & antonyms

verbobtain advantages, such as points, etc.

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry
APA

pull ahead. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20ahead

MLA

“pull ahead.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20ahead. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pull ahead,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pull%20ahead.

Source: pull ahead on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.