get ahead of oneself

The phrase "get ahead of oneself" is commonly used to describe premature actions or decisions due to overconfidence or eagerness.

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Definition

B2General

(informal)To act or plan too early without considering all necessary steps or details.

Example

She started buying baby clothes before she was even pregnant, really getting ahead of herself.

B2General

(informal)To become overly eager about future events, leading to premature actions or decisions.

Example

Don't get ahead of yourself; we need to finish this project before starting the next one.

Similar

Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "get ahead of oneself":

get ahead of keep ahead run ahead jump the gun above oneself lose one's head ahead of ahead of the curve go to someone's head get a leg up move ahead overplay one's hand look ahead forget oneself steal a march go overboard put oneself about out of one's depth top oneself before someone's time get the drop on two steps ahead head off at the pass go over someone's head handle oneself too big for one's britches ahead in the count