head of steam

noun phrase

: strong driving force : momentum
frequent rallies helped the movement develop a head of steam

Examples of head of steam in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web With defensive rim protectors pulled away from the hoop to defend the three, NBA players are taking advantage of having more room to operate by getting a head of steam and throwing it down. Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019 Afterwards, Henry explained that, after taking some time to gel, the Ravens offense is beginning to build up a head of steam. Ben Morse, CNN, 30 Sep. 2024 Guys aren’t getting a full head of steam coming down the field, taking shots on people. Sam Joseph, CNN, 2 Aug. 2024 Matthew Tkachuk got Florida on the board 1:53 later with a quick-release finish over Skinner after Evan Rodrigues stole the puck along the boards and fed it to Tkachuk with a head of steam low in the zone. Bailey Johnson, Washington Post, 19 June 2024 That does not allow players to gather the same head of steam for those tremendously violent collisions that occur with traditional kickoffs. Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024 Messi ran onto the errant pass and was suddenly dribbling toward the goal with a full head of steam. Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 There is a head of steam behind doing this, particularly in the U.S. TIME, 21 Feb. 2024 Don’t go in looking for a legislative savior: The film’s parade of pro-police presidents, from Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon (who expressly used crime in his scare campaigns targeted at suburban whites) to Barack Obama and Joe Biden, is the movie’s most effective head of steam. Los Angeles Times Staff, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'head of steam.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1838, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of head of steam was in 1838

Dictionary Entries Near head of steam

Cite this Entry

“Head of steam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/head%20of%20steam. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!