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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

ahead en · ADV

Pronunciation

Etymology

From a- + head. Perhaps originally a nautical term, beyond the head (of a ship), then drifting into more general English usage where it is used to describe something as being in front of.

Meanings

  1. (not-comparable) At or towards the front; in the direction one is facing or moving.
    • Keep going straight ahead.
    • The island was directly ahead.
    • Just ahead you can see the cliffs.
  2. (not-comparable) So as to be further advanced, either spatially or in an abstract sense; to be superior.
    • In all of his classes Jack was ahead.
    • He finished two laps ahead of me.
  3. (not-comparable) In or for the future.
    • There may be tough times ahead.
    • You've got to think ahead so as not to be unprepared.
  4. (not-comparable) To a later time.
    • Push the deadline ahead a day, from the 20th to the 21st.
    • Then the customer would set a rebidding deadline ahead a month - for example from September 1 to October 1 - and give everybody four weeks to submit […] 1995, Charles Edward Weber, Stories of Virtue in Business, University Press of America, →ISBN, page 55:
    • When we saw that wasn't working in 1976, we moved the deadline ahead to 1978. 1998, United States House Committee on Agriculture, Subcommittee on Department Operations, Nutrition, and Foreign Agriculture, Implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Nutrition, and Foreign Agriculture of the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session, June 25, 1998, page 46:
    • Set the clock ahead an hour.
  5. (not-comparable) At an earlier time; beforehand; in advance.
    • He paid his rent ahead.
  6. (not-comparable) To an earlier time.
    • […] the Department is responding to the statutory requirement in the USA Patriot Act that moved the deadline ahead to 2003 from 2007. 2003, United States House Committee on Government Reform, Smooth Sailing Or an Impending Wreck?: The Impact of New Visa and Passport Requirements on Foreign Travel to the United States : Hearing Before the Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session, July 10, 2003, page 113:
    • […] committees in Congress hae a March 15 deadline for reporting their "views and estimates" to the budget committees. The Senate Republican leadership, eager to get a jump on the annual budget process, moved the deadline ahead to March 1 for Senate committees. 1985, Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, volume 43, page 606:
    • Push the deadline ahead a day, from the 21st to the 20th.

Antonyms

astern · behind

Deriveds

nudge ahead · bound ahead · set ahead · freeze-ahead · ahead of time · plan ahead · prepare ahead · leap ahead · power ahead · spoiler ahead · roar ahead · line ahead · radio ahead · lie ahead · call ahead · epub ahead of print · one jump ahead · readahead · aheadness · phone ahead · go-ahead · draw ahead · loom ahead · typeahead · have one's whole life ahead of one · quit when one is ahead

Hyponyms

straight ahead

Relateds

ahead of

Translations (56)

bg напред (in or to the front) · es al frente de (in or to the front) · fi edessä (in or for the future) · uk впере́д (in or to the front) · nb forskuddsvis (at an earlier time) · nmn ǂhàã (in or to the front) · es adelante (in or to the front) · nv alą́ąjįʼ (in or to the front) · nl vooruit (in or to the front) · nb på forhånd (at an earlier time) · ca al davant de (in or to the front) · de vorn (in or to the front) · cic ímmayya (in or to the front) · ru вперёд (in or to the front) · it avanti (so as to be further advanced) · nb fremfor (so as to be further advanced) · nb fremover (to a later time) · nl voor ons (in or to the front) · ca en front de (in or to the front) · mwl alantre (in or to the front) · es delante de (in or to the front) · fi etuajassa (at an earlier time) · it in anticipo (at an earlier time) · he מֵרֹאשׁ (at an earlier time) · fi edellä (in or to the front) · nb foran (in or to the front) · myv икелепеле (in or to the front) · fi ennalta (in or for the future) · it antecedentemente (at an earlier time) · toi kumbele (in or to the front) · zza raver (in or to the front) · ru впереди́ (in or to the front) · nb forover (to a later time) · ro înainte (in or to the front) · eo antaŭe (in or to the front) · fi edessä (in or to the front) · nl voorop (in or to the front) · it avanti (in or to the front) · fr devant (in or to the front) · bg отпред (in or to the front) · it anzitempo (in or for the future) · pl z przodu (in or to the front) · ro în fața (in or to the front) · ca davant (in or to the front) · pt à frente (in or to the front) · ja 先に (in or to the front) · nb fremover (in or for the future) · it anticipatamente (in or for the future) · nb på forskudd (at an earlier time) · pt ahdiantado (at an earlier time) · uk попе́реду (in or to the front) · it al futuro (in or for the future) · nb foran (so as to be further advanced) · de voraus (in or to the front) · pt para frente (in or to the front) · fi edellä (so as to be further advanced)