/əˈhɛd/
OriginFrom 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".
- not-comparableAt or towards the front; in the direction one is facing or moving.
“The island was directly ahead.”
“Just ahead you can see the cliffs.”
“Keep going straight ahead.”
- not-comparableSo as to be further advanced, either spatially or in an abstract sense; to be superior.
“He finished two laps ahead of me.”
“In all of his classes Jack was ahead.”
- not-comparableIn or for the future.
“There may be tough times ahead.”
“You've got to think ahead so as not to be unprepared.”
- not-comparableTo a later time.
“Set the clock ahead an hour.”
“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 […]”
- not-comparableAt an earlier time; beforehand; in advance.
“He paid his rent ahead.”
- not-comparableTo an earlier time.
“Push the deadline ahead a day, from the 21st to the 20th.”
“[…] 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 proces”
“[…] the Department is responding to the statutory requirement in the USA Patriot Act that moved the deadline ahead to 2003 from 2007.”