ahead of the game
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Lead in a particular field.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
He admitted his hit factory had stagemanaged much of her career, using the age - old ploy of staying ahead of the game.
In the first place, his rehearsals were always scrupulously prepared; in the second, he generally tried to ensure that the players themselves felt that they were ahead of the game.
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. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “ahead of the game” mean?
Lead in a particular field.
Is “ahead of the game” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.