hit the ground running

Idioms  

1. Seize an opportunity; begin at full speed. For example, As soon as the front office gave its approval for the new department, we hit the ground running. The origin of this term is disputed. It may come from troops dropped into a combat zone, from stowaways jumping off a freight train as it nears the station, or from Pony Express riders avoiding delay when they changed mounts.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hit the ground running

The indications are they want to hit the ground running – in something of a blitz of appearances and announcements in his opening days and weeks in office.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

Whether or not you have years of experience is less important than demonstrating that you can hit the ground running.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

Singling out their work ethic, Mantello extolled the way Lane and Metcalf can be relied on to hit the ground running.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026

Hungary's economy is in a deep slump, and Magyar and his team know they will have to hit the ground running.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026

“We’ll be in our meeting room, putting together a list of new Dewey decimal numbers from the Bibliomania cards so we’re ready to hit the ground running when the doors reopen at ten tomorrow morning.”

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• begin
• inaugurate
• initiate
• launch
• take up