1. Literally, to look forward. Look ahead and see if you can see the exit sign.
2. To think about and perhaps try to anticipate what may happen in the future. When you're making a big decision, try to look ahead and think about what will happen after you make that choice.If we want to come up with a huge seller, we can't just look at the market now—we need to look ahead.
look ahead
v.
1. To cast one's gaze forward: The passengers looked ahead toward the horizon to keep from getting seasick.
2. To think about the future: After months of work, we looked ahead to summer vacation.