Ahead
adverbIn, at, or toward the front; further forward in space, time, or progress.
How to spell ahead
5 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce ahead
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does ahead mean?
- adverbIn, at, or toward the front; further forward in space, time, or progress.
Ahead in a sentence
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The road ahead was blocked by roadworks for several miles.
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She finished the report a full week ahead of the deadline.
Where does ahead come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
This word is a native English formation, built from the old preposition 'a-', a worn-down form of 'on', joined to 'head', which comes from the Old English 'heafod' meaning the top of the body and, by extension, the front or leading point of anything. The pattern is the same one that gives us 'aboard', 'ashore' and 'aside', where 'a-' means 'on' or 'in the position of'. So 'ahead' literally meant 'on head', that is, at or toward the front. It first appears in English around the seventeenth century, originally as a nautical term describing something lying in front of a ship's course. From that seafaring use it broadened to cover position, motion and progress in time, giving us senses like getting ahead in life or planning ahead.
How the word is built
- a- (on, in the direction of)
- head (front part, foremost point)
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