(philosophy) a philosophical theory holding that all events are inevitable consequences of antecedent sufficient causes; often understood as denying the possibility of free will
at or in the front; "I see the lights of a town ahead"; "the road ahead is foggy"; "staring straight ahead"; "we couldn't see over the heads of the people in front"; "with the cross of Jesus marching on before"
ahead of time; in anticipation; "when you pay ahead (or in advance) you receive a discount"; "We like to plan ahead"; "should have made reservations beforehand"
in a forward direction; "go ahead"; "the train moved ahead slowly"; "the boat lurched ahead"; "moved onward into the forest"; "they went slowly forward in the mud"
leading or ahead in a competition; "the horse was three lengths ahead going into the home stretch"; "ahead by two pawns"; "our candidate is in the lead in the polls"; "way out front in the race"; "the advertising campaign put them out front in sales"
to a different or a more advanced time (meaning advanced either toward the present or toward the future); "moved the appointment ahead from Tuesday to Monday"; "pushed the deadline ahead from Tuesday to Wednesday"
to a more advanced or advantageous position; "a young man sure to get ahead"; "pushing talented students ahead"
toward the future; forward in time; "I like to look ahead in imagination to what the future may bring"; "I look forward to seeing you"
a time period usually extending from Friday night through Sunday; more loosely defined as any period of successive days including one and only one Sunday
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time; "early morning"; "an early warning"; "early diagnosis"; "an early death"; "took early retirement"; "an early spring"; "early varieties of peas and tomatoes mature before most standard varieties"
being or occurring at an early stage of development; "in an early stage"; "early forms of life"; "early man"; "an early computer"
of an early stage in the development of a language or literature; "the Early Hebrew alphabetical script is that used mainly from the 11th to the 6th centuries B.C."; "Early Modern English is represented in documents printed from 1476 to 1700"
very young; "at an early age"
expected in the near future; "look for an early end to the negotiations"
before the usual time or the time expected; "she graduated early"; "the house was completed ahead of time"