keep ahead

keep ahead (of someone or something)

1. To remain physically in front of someone or something. Keep ahead of me on the road so I'll know when to turn. He managed to keep ahead through the entirety of the race.
2. To maintain someone's or something's position in front of someone or something else. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "keep" and "ahead." Make sure you keep the car in front of that bus on the highway. The teacher kept me in front of the other students for the walk into the auditorium.
3. To complete tasks in a timely manner, so as to avoid a backlog or burdensome amount of work. So many requests have been pouring in that I simply can't keep ahead of my emails. I'd much rather do some extra work and keep ahead than spend the following week scrambling to catch up. I've been getting all of our documents and reports in order so I can keep ahead of the audit next week.
See also: ahead, keep, someone
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

keep ahead

(of someone or something) Go to ahead (of someone or something).
See also: ahead, keep
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

keep ahead

v.
1. To remain in front of something, especially when moving: We tried to keep ahead of the truck, but it eventually passed us.
2. To have completed all or more than is required of some task in order to be prepared to face more work: I can't keep ahead of all my homework; every day I get more.
See also: ahead, keep
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in classic literature ?
To walk by the side of this child, and talk to and question her, was the most natural thing in the world, or would have been the most natural, had she been acting just then without design; and by this means the others were still able to keep ahead, without any obligation of waiting for her.
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And so, if the railroad reached round the world, I think that I should keep ahead of you; and as for seeing the country and getting experience of that kind, I should have to cut your acquaintance altogether.
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She forgot all about the psychology of animals, and the recurrence of blue eyes and brown, and became instantly engrossed in her feelings as a woman who could administer consolation, and she hoped that Katharine would keep ahead with Mr.
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Springing on the saddle, he managed, by a most wonderful exertion, just to keep ahead of the long spears of his pursuers, who followed him to within sight of the fort.
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Writing today in the Journal Of The Royal Society Of Medicine he warned that nearly a decade of austerity and "massive cuts" to local authority budgets had led to environmental health departments which were no longer able to "keep ahead of the threats to human health".
'Systematic failures' on listeria deaths
Bumper sales of tenth X-Men movie Logan helped HMV keep ahead of Amazon as Britain's biggest DVD seller and Blu-ray seller.
HMV X-SELLS OVER AMAZON; FINANCE
Sad though it is that we have to have nuclear weapons, we must continue and keep ahead of these fanatics.
Defend our country first and foremost; FEEDBACK
To keep ahead of the curve, outdoor furniture style leader Lane Venture collaborated with celebrity interior designer Celerie Kemble on covetable collections like Rafter, which she says "carries a bit of African inspiration mixed with a lot of Palm Beach and a touch of the Hamptons." Scaled with classic indoor furniture proportions and styled to fit in almost every environment, the collection ranges from an ottoman pouf ($549) to a three-seat sofa ($2,999) at Robb & Stucky, 7557 S.
Backyard bliss
Keep ahead past third footbridge, ignoring the boardwalk to the right.
URBAN WALK; START: Sarehole Mill, Colebank Rd B13 0BD
The Silverstone-based marque scored their second double-points finish of the year in Monaco to keep ahead of McLaren in the race for fifth place in the constructors' championship and deputy team principal Bob Fernley said: "The one thing that may be in our favour this year is we all have to switch resources, if we've not already done, so then in the very near future, over to the 2014 car.
A Force to be reckoned with!
Rock Enter Shikari A Flash Flood Of Colour With their dance-influenced, post-hardcore sound, Enter Shikari have been leading the pack for some years now, but can they keep ahead of the game?
Rock; CD releases
Climb this and keep ahead to pass the remains of St Elvis Cromlech.
DAYTRIPPER; Solva to Pointz castle Part 1
Oman's government is planning a 300MW IPP in Salalah, planned to go online in 2015 in an effort to keep ahead of increasing demand for power.
Oman plans 300MW Salalah IPP
As always, change is a constant and as a successful business we need to keep ahead, or risk falling behind.
The start of the New Year
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