A principal in front (5)

I believe the answer is:

ahead

'in front' is the definition.
(synonyms)

'a principal' is the wordplay.
'principal' becomes 'head' (synonyms).
'a'+'head'='AHEAD'

(Other definitions for ahead that I've seen before include "In the vanguard" , "Winning" , "at pole" , "In the future" , "advanced" .)

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