ahead of one's time

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Having ideas or concepts that are more advanced than what is currently accepted.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

có ý tưởng hoặc khái niệm vượt trội so với hiện tại

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: in front of one's time
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English
Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “ahead of one's time” mean?

Having ideas or concepts that are more advanced than what is currently accepted. Literally: in front of one's time

Is “ahead of one's time” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.