ahead of the curve

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

This strategy needs to be inverted – and Greece offers a real opportunity to get ahead of the curve.

British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review.

Common questions

What does “ahead of the curve” mean?

Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.

Is “ahead of the curve” formal or informal?

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