Get ahead meaning
Get ahead means to be successful in your job or in life. It can also mean to move in front of others, or do work earlier than planned.
get ahead
get ahead · got · getting
You need good English to get ahead in tourism.
Get ahead meanings and examples
2 meanings, each with its own CEFR level. A level marked ~ is our estimate: Oxford and Cambridge give none for that meaning.
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1
Be successful in your job or in life
get ahead
- You need good English to get ahead in tourism.
- She worked weekends to get ahead.
- It’s hard to get ahead when you’re always tired.
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2
Move in front of others, or do work earlier than planned
get ahead
- Let’s leave at six to get ahead of the traffic.
- I’m trying to get ahead on my essays this week.
- The other runner got ahead on the last lap.
Café orders
New friends
At the airport
Slova
Use get ahead in real conversations
- Learn new words with picture cards
- Talk with Felix, an AI tutor, about the things you love
- Short lessons at your level, a few minutes a day
Is get ahead separable?
Get ahead has no object. To say where, add in: get ahead in business. To say who or what you pass, add of: get ahead of the others.
Don’t get ahead of yourself is an informal warning. It means don’t plan or celebrate too early: You haven’t got the job yet, so don’t get ahead of yourself.
Verb tenses for get ahead
| Present | I get ahead · she gets ahead |
|---|---|
| Past | got ahead |
| Present perfect | have got ahead (US: have gotten ahead) |
| -ing form | getting ahead |
Common mistakes with get ahead
What learners often say, and what to say instead.
Wrong: He wants to get ahead his colleagues.
Right: He wants to get ahead of his colleagues.
Use of before the people you pass.
Wrong: She got ahead on her career quickly.
Right: She got ahead in her career quickly.
Say get ahead in a career or in life.
Wrong: Can I get ahead and start the meeting?
Right: Can I go ahead and start the meeting?
Go ahead means start; get ahead means succeed.
Synonyms and opposites of get ahead
Words close to it, and words that mean the opposite.
Similar
- succeedthe general word for doing well
- move upget a better position at work
Get ahead quiz
Three quick questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
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1In this company, you need to work hard to ___.
Get ahead means be successful at work.
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2Choose the right sentence.
Use of before what you pass.
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3Lina finished next week’s homework today. What did she do?
Get ahead can mean do work earlier than planned.
More phrasal verbs with get
All phrasal verbs with get, by level, with an exercise
19 phrasal verbs start with get. Test yourself on all of them in a few minutes.
- get upA1get out of bed after you sleep
- get onA2go onto a bus, train, plane, boat or bike
- get offA2leave a bus, train, plane, boat or bike
- get backA2return home or to a place where you were before
- get inA2enter a car, a taxi, a building or a small space
- get outA2leave a car, a room or a building
- get intoA2go inside a car, a building or a small space
- get overB1feel better after an illness
- get alongB1like each other and be friendly
- get aroundB1travel or move from place to place
- get togetherB1meet other people, usually to spend time together
- get byB2manage to live or do something with just enough money, skill or help
- get throughB2pass an exam or reach the next stage of a competition
- get awayB2escape from a person or a place
- get away withB2do something wrong and not be punished for it
- get on withB2start or continue doing something, especially work, after a pause
- get out ofB2avoid doing something you should do, often with an excuse
- get down toB2start doing something seriously and with full attention
Get ahead FAQ
Questions people ask about get ahead.
What does get ahead of the curve mean?
It means act early, before a change or a problem arrives: The shop got ahead of the curve by selling online early. It is common in business English.
What is the difference between get ahead and get on?
Both can mean succeed at work. Get on is mostly British and a little old-fashioned. Get ahead is common everywhere and suggests doing better than others.
What is a synonym for get ahead?
Succeed, make progress or move up. At work you might also say get promoted.
Use get ahead in real conversations
In Slova you learn new words with picture cards, then use them when you talk about the things you love. A few minutes a day, at your level.