From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishaheada‧head /əˈhed/ ●●● S1 W2 adverb 1 in frontFRONT a short distance in front of someone or something OPP behind He kept his gaze fixed on the car ahead.ahead of A hill loomed ahead of them. We could see the lights of Las Vegas up ahead.some/a little/a long way ahead The clinic was now in sight, some way ahead.straight/dead ahead (=straight in front) The river is eight miles away dead ahead. Henry hurried on ahead (=went in front of the others).2 forwardFORWARD if someone or something looks or moves ahead, they look or move forward He stared straight ahead. The ship forged ahead through the thin ice.3 before somebody elseBEFORE before someone elseahead of There were four people ahead of me at the doctor’s.4 futureFUTURE in the futureahead of You have a long trip ahead of you. Problems may lie ahead.the years/days/months etc ahead We do not foresee any major changes in the years ahead. Unless we plan ahead (=plan for the future) we are going to be in a mess.5 before an eventBEFORE before an event happens SYN in advance I cook rice two or three hours ahead. Can you tell me ahead of time if you’re coming?ahead of He’s giving a series of concerts in London ahead of his international tour. 6 → ahead of schedule7 progress/successSUCCESSFUL making progress and being successful in your job, education etcget/keep/stay ahead Getting ahead at work is the most important thing to her at the moment.8 advancedADVANCED ideas, achievements etc that are ahead of others have made more progress or are more developed This design is light years ahead (=much more advanced) in performance and comfort.ahead of your/its time (=very advanced or new, and not understood or accepted) Coleridge was in many ways far ahead of his time.9 WINNINGWINWINNING winning in a competition or election Two shots from Gardner put the Giants 80–75 ahead. We are 10 points ahead in the polls.ahead of At this stage, Smith appeared to be ahead of his rivals.10 → go ahead11 → ahead of the game/curve
Examples from the Corpus
ahead• Then he singled in the sixth, the hit part of a rally that enabled Baltimore to go ahead, 4-2.• The government faces some difficult decisions in the months which lie ahead.• Unemployment in the region is expected to grow in the months ahead.• David had his breakfast and thought about the day ahead.• We wish you to get ahead.• Second, the title suggests an assessment of multimedia spanning the decade, examining developments as far ahead as the year 2000.• Milligan's home run puts the Dodgers ahead by one point.• The police officer said that going ahead could mean prison.• He looked ahead down the road towards the village.• Let Tom walk ahead - he knows the way.• If you decide not to go ahead, just return the Policy within 15 days.• His test as a peacemaker is still ahead of him.• I know there are some big problems ahead of us, but I'm sure we can overcome them.• Let Tom walk ahead of you - he knows this path very well.• Albert was staring straight ahead, pretending not to listen.• He stuck his head out of the window but it was impossible to see ahead through the fog.• The doctor strode ahead to the end of the corridor, and waited there for the others to catch up.• The road ahead was clear.• He walked very fast, commanding me to follow, and said there was a bridge up ahead we could cross.• So stop moaning and plan ahead with some confidence.• Devraux stared straight ahead, without looking at his son.straight/dead ahead• But as the haze cleared, Anson sighted land right away, dead ahead.• Skylines peaks glistened in the bright sun, with Kanchenjunga our market straight ahead.• The forked road which every star, perhaps every person, faces at least once in a lifetime lay dead ahead.• To his left was a heavily built grey-haired man, who looked straight ahead.• Vick couldn't run straight ahead, and he couldn't turn the corner.• As the first verdict for Lyle Menendez was read, the elder brother looked straight ahead and then shook his head slowly.• Her doll sits stiffly, pointed straight ahead at the fixtures that emerge from the wall.• Turn right on to the road through Harbottle village and go straight ahead to the car park.straight ahead• To his left was a heavily built grey-haired man, who looked straight ahead.• If the engine fails on take-off, keep going straight ahead and crash land.• As the first verdict for Lyle Menendez was read, the elder brother looked straight ahead and then shook his head slowly.• Shipman stared straight ahead as the foreman of the jury read out the verdict tothe packed courtroom.• She sits on the couch in the locker room staring straight ahead as the others trade jokes.• Her doll sits stiffly, pointed straight ahead at the fixtures that emerge from the wall.• Copper Creek Road is straight ahead, but may be closed for mining operations.• He was just staring straight ahead in a complete daze.• The occupants of the car in front were staring straight ahead, not talking to each other, very tense.plan ahead• Call to find specific prices for the days you travel and plan ahead.• It makes it difficult if not dangerous for businesses and households to plan ahead.• Fluctuations in oil prices on the world market make it impossible for developing countries to plan ahead.• Once you have children, it's wise to plan ahead.• A fine time for making deals and arrangements for the future so plan ahead.• And it does give farmers the stability they need to plan ahead.• Fortunately, humans can plan ahead.• Indeed, language is all about constructing unique sequences, and so is planning ahead for tomorrow.• It's never too soon to start planning ahead for your retirement.• For those willing to plan ahead however, this is nothing to lament.• So stop moaning and plan ahead with some confidence.ahead of time• At this point we're ahead of schedule.• They were trying to learn to perform a role whose meaning and importance they could not grasp ahead of time.• You might wan na call ahead of time.• We will try to complete the building ahead of time.• Issues such as job assignments and reduced overtime are worked out ahead of time.• It is hard to lay down rules about this ahead of time.• Many of them had prepared notes ahead of time, and Drake took lots of notes.• Visas must be obtained ahead of time, and it may take several weeks to get them in order.• You can always prepare the salad ahead of time and refrigerate it.• Anticipate the problems your client may have with self-monitoring ahead of time, and rehearse strategies to deal with those situations.• Linear regression, for example, requires all the data to be collected ahead of time and then processed all at once.• Let me know ahead of time if you need a ride to the airport.• Pat always gets everything ready ahead of time so she can relax when guests arrive.• When you surf to a new Web page, you have no idea ahead of time whether it contains a Java program.get/keep/stay ahead• But friends who eyed each other all the time, not exactly with envy, but with care to see who got ahead.• It was hard to keep ahead.• Take cheap shots and distort facts in order to get ahead?• The party permits ordinary people to get ahead.• They get ahead by a few points, then relax, get lazy.• They're made for poor people in countries where it's hard to get ahead in life.• Trying to get ahead, trying to get an education, trying to become the best person that you can be.ahead of your/its time• Considered 33 years later, that ad was light-years ahead of its time.• Hyde Park was a school way ahead of its time.• Of course, Pollock's historicism can he misleading, particularly when it implies that art can be ahead of its time.• Sketchpad was not only the first drawing program, but was arguably the best, absurdly ahead of its time.• The idea was way ahead of its time.• Well ahead of its time, Adamson's first album remains his best.• It was about 70 years ahead of its time in its feminism and its poetics, so this is its time.• The musical was ahead of its time in several ways.put ... ahead• But shortly before the break, it was former Hereford player Paul Wheeler who put Chester two ahead.• Gallup was the only one of Thursday's four polls to put the Tories ahead.• The Swifts keeper, Patterson, saved well from Woods, who later missed a good opportunity to put the Olympic ahead.• United's defence stopped expecting an offside flag but Alexei Mikhailichenko was allowed to continue and put Rangers ahead.• Midfield player Mark Proctor celebrated his recall by putting Boro ahead after 15 minutes.• Beattie put them ahead after two minutes with an opportunist try but Dungait replied for Morpeth.• Stabler had three chances to put West Hartlepool ahead with penalty kicks but failed, though one struck an upright.From Longman Business Dictionaryaheada‧head /əˈhed/ adverb if the value of something is ahead of a previous level, it has increasedThe shares were ahead more than 11% at one stage, and closed 85 up at 944p. 