head start

American  

Or headstart

noun

head starts plural

1. an advantage given or acquired in any competition, endeavor, etc., as allowing one or more competitors in a race to start before the others.

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head start British  

noun

1. an initial advantage in a competitive situation

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head start Idioms  

1. An early start that confers an advantage, as in This year we'll get a head start on the competition by running more ads. The expression comes from racing, where it was used for a horse being given an advantage of several lengths over the others. Its extension to other areas dates from the early 1900s.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• head starts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of head start

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

He still had to go through an online application portal later, but he had a head start.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026

The higher baseline - or head start - means similar summer weather patterns now reach heatwave and extreme heat thresholds more easily.

From BBC • May 28, 2026

China already has a head start in automation.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

Johnson & Johnson is also a key beneficiary in this space, the analyst wrote last month, citing its leadership in hematology and head start in potential markets like Sjogren’s disease and systemic lupus erythematous.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

“That was a great thing you did, with Billy. You gave him the head start we weren’t able to give you.”

From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass