Adjacent Words

Ahead definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AHEAD, adv. Ahed', [a and head, or at head.]
1. Further forward than another thing; in front; originally a sea term, denoting further forward than another ship, or on the point to which the stem is directed, in opposition to astern.
2. Onward; forward; towards the point before the stem or head; as, move ahead.
3. Headlong; without restraint; precipitantly; as children suffered to run ahead. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: having the leading position or higher score in a contest; "he is ahead by a pawn"; "the leading team in the pennant race" [syn: ahead, in the lead, leading] adv
1: at or in the front; "I see the lights of a town ahead"; "the road ahead is foggy"; "staring straight ahead"; "we couldn't see over the heads of the people in front"; "with the cross of Jesus marching on before" [syn: ahead, in front, before]
2: toward the future; forward in time; "I like to look ahead in imagination to what the future may bring"; "I look forward to seeing you" [syn: ahead, forward] [ant: back, backward]
3: in a forward direction; "go ahead"; "the train moved ahead slowly"; "the boat lurched ahead"; "moved onward into the forest"; "they went slowly forward in the mud" [syn: ahead, onward, onwards, forward, forwards, forrader]
4: ahead of time; in anticipation; "when you pay ahead (or in advance) you receive a discount"; "We like to plan ahead"; "should have made reservations beforehand" [syn: ahead, in advance, beforehand]
5: to a more advanced or advantageous position; "a young man sure to get ahead"; "pushing talented students ahead"
6: to a different or a more advanced time (meaning advanced either toward the present or toward the future); "moved the appointment ahead from Tuesday to Monday"; "pushed the deadline ahead from Tuesday to Wednesday"
7: leading or ahead in a competition; "the horse was three lengths ahead going into the home stretch"; "ahead by two pawns"; "our candidate is in the lead in the polls"; "way out front in the race"; "the advertising campaign put them out front in sales" [syn: ahead, out front, in the lead]

Merriam Webster's

adverb or adjective Date: 1596 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>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adv. 1 further forward in space or time. 2 in the lead; further advanced (ahead on points). 3 in the line of one's forward motion (roadworks ahead). 4 straight forwards. Phrases and idioms: ahead of 1 further forward or advanced than. 2 in the line of the forward motion of. Etymology: orig. Naut., f. A(2) + HEAD

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ahead A*head", adv. [Pref. a- + head.] 1. In or to the front; in advance; onward. The island bore but a little ahead of us. --Fielding. 2. Headlong; without restraint. [Obs.] --L'Estrange. To go ahead. (a) To go in advance. (b) To go on onward. (c) To push on in an enterprise. [Colloq] To get ahead of. (a) To get in advance of. (b) To surpass; to get the better of. [Colloq.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. Note: In addition to the uses shown below, 'ahead' is used in phrasal verbs such as 'get ahead', 'go ahead', and 'press ahead'. 1. Something that is ahead is in front of you. If you look ahead, you look directly in front of you. Brett looked straight ahead... I peered ahead through the front screen... The road ahead was now blocked solid... Ahead, he saw the side railings of First Bridge over Crooked Brook. ? behind ADV: ADV after v, n ADV, ADV with cl 2. You use ahead with verbs such as 'push', 'move', and 'forge' to indicate that a plan, scheme, or organization is making fast progress. We are moving ahead with plans to send financial aid... = forward ADV: ADV after v 3. If you are ahead in your work or achievements, you have made more progress than you expected to and are performing well. First half profits have charged ahead from £127.6m to £134.2m... Children in small classes are several months ahead in reading. ADV: be ADV, ADV after v, oft amount ADV 4. If a person or a team is ahead in a competition, they are winning. Scotland were ahead in their European championship qualifier in Iceland... A goal would have put Dublin 6-1 ahead. ADV: be ADV, ADV after v, oft amount ADV 5. Ahead also means in the future. A much bigger battle is ahead for the president... Now I can remember without mourning, and begin to look ahead... ADV: v-link ADV, ADV after v, n ADV 6. If you prepare or plan something ahead, you do it some time before a future event so that everything is ready for that event to take place. The government wants figures that help it to plan ahead... Summer weddings need to be arranged months ahead. ADV: ADV after v 7. If you go ahead, or if you go on ahead, you go in front of someone who is going to the same place so that you arrive there some time before they do. I went ahead and waited with Sean... ADV: ADV after v

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

ad. 1. Onward, forward, in advance, in front. 2. (Naut.) In opposition (said of the wind), against us, in our teeth.

Moby Thesaurus

a cut above, above, ahead of time, alee, along, ante, ascendant, before, beforehand, beforetime, betimes, better, capping, chosen, distinguished, early, eclipsing, eminent, en route to, exceeding, excellent, excelling, finer, first, for, fore, foremost, foresightedly, forth, forward, forwards, greater, headmost, higher, in advance, in anticipation, in ascendancy, in front, in the ascendant, in the forefront, in the foreground, in the front, in the lead, major, marked, of choice, on, one up on, onward, onwards, outstanding, over, precociously, previous, rare, rivaling, super, superior, surpassing, to the fore, to the front, topping, transcendent, transcendental, transcending, up ahead, upper, winning