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 FayExamples 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
As the verdict was read, Way looked straight ahead.
—Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2025
Johnson had pushed ahead with tonight's vote on the blueprint but came up against a group of House GOP conservatives who are demanding steep spending cuts.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Apr. 2025
During Thursday’s Ghosts, Sas went ahead with his potentially deadly plan to get to Shiki by going in the ghost trap, even though crossing the Woodstone property in the box could smush him to death.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 10 Apr. 2025
The one below may reveal the firefighter left behind and why Walker was so emphatic about how stressed fans should be about what’s ahead.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ahead
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Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2025
Johnson had pushed ahead with tonight's vote on the blueprint but came up against a group of House GOP conservatives who are demanding steep spending cuts.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Apr. 2025
During Thursday’s Ghosts, Sas went ahead with his potentially deadly plan to get to Shiki by going in the ghost trap, even though crossing the Woodstone property in the box could smush him to death.
—Vlada Gelman, TVLine, 10 Apr. 2025
The one below may reveal the firefighter left behind and why Walker was so emphatic about how stressed fans should be about what’s ahead.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ahead
Cite this Entry
“Ahead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ahead. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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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