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

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Etymology

Origin of head start

First recorded in 1885–90

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

head start

A digital waitlist lets you wander around the neighborhood, browse the shops, maybe get a head start on another errand.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

Without investing, that extra $500 takes about 12 years to make up the $72,000 head start, so the break-even is roughly 79.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

These arrangements are designed to give defenders a head start, rather than make every advance equally available to attackers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Wally Luckeydoo says he is giving his children a "financial head start"

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

It took her a while to maneuver her wheelchair between the tables, so Julian had a head start.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

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