ahead
adverb or adjective
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
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
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
John FaySynonyms
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
Check out this guide to scoring a campsite near L.A. without booking ahead.
—Laura Randall, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024
Labour leader Keir Starmer has additional plans to tax the wealthy and polls show his party more than 20 points ahead.
—Eli Joseph, Fortune Europe, 6 June 2024
Challenges are bound to arise in the month ahead, but don’t let this derail your journey.
—Valerie Mesa, Peoplemag, 5 June 2024
With a grim storm forecast ahead, the nation’s top disaster responders are in danger of running out of cash at the peak of hurricane season — again.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 4 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ahead 
Laura Randall, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024
Labour leader Keir Starmer has additional plans to tax the wealthy and polls show his party more than 20 points ahead.
—Eli Joseph, Fortune Europe, 6 June 2024
Challenges are bound to arise in the month ahead, but don’t let this derail your journey.
—Valerie Mesa, Peoplemag, 5 June 2024
With a grim storm forecast ahead, the nation’s top disaster responders are in danger of running out of cash at the peak of hurricane season — again.
—Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 4 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for ahead
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ahead.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ahead
Cite this Entry
“Ahead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ahead. Accessed 9 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ahead
adverb or adjective1
: 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
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