lie ahead of

lie ahead of (someone or something)

1. To be physically located in front or ahead of someone or something. As we trudged through the desert, it looked as though a magnificent oasis lay ahead of us, but it was just a mirage, some accursed trick of the sun. The mountains lie ahead of a vast prairieland.

2. To be or exist in the future of someone or something. One should never presume to know what may lie ahead of them.

See also: ahead, lie, of

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

lie ahead of someone or something

 and lie before someone or something 

1. to exist in front of someone or something. A small cottage lay ahead of us near the trail. A huge mansion lay before the car at the end of the road.

2. to be fixed in the future of someone or something. I just don't know what lies ahead of me. We don't know what lies before our country.

See also: ahead, lie, of

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.