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

The shy boy was the first in his family to walk the graduation stage, and he was determined to get a head start on his future.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2026

All would mean that the immune system has a head start when it comes to fighting a real Ebola infection.

From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026

If what you say is true, she may have already gotten a head start on doing just that.

From MarketWatch • May 25, 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

What use was it trying to compete with the Americans: they would always have the head start.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez