COMMON If someone or something is ahead of their time, they have or show ideas that are so modern that most people have not accepted them yet. My mother was ahead of her time. She surrounded me with culture and art. The idea was too far ahead of its time, and had attracted some amusement locally. Note: You can also say that someone or something is before their time. His only mistake, he insists, is that he was 20 years before his time.