head start

noun

1
: an advantage granted or achieved at the beginning of a race, a chase, or a competition
a 10-minute head start
2
: a favorable or promising beginning

Examples of head start in a Sentence

They gave me a five-minute head start. She took some extra classes to get a head start in her career. His natural athletic talent gave him a head start on his peers.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Honor is looking to get a head start on Samsung, which has its own foldable launch next week on July 9. Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 2 July 2025 That's not something competitors like OpenAI are doing yet, so that, combined with a head start in video generation, has allowed Runway to grow and stay competitive so far. ArsTechnica, 24 June 2025 Given Waymo’s head start and potential competition from Amazon and others, dominating the driverless market to that extent could be a reach. Bernard Condon, Fortune, 22 June 2025 The 26-year-old newcomer to Illinois got a head start on fundraising, bringing in more than $375,000 in the first weeks of her campaign on a pitch to run a different kind of race, based on mutual aid efforts. Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 24 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for head start

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of head start was in 1859

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Head start.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/head%20start. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

head start

noun
1
: an advantage given to a contestant at the beginning of a race
a five-minute head start
2
: a favorable or promising beginning

More from Merriam-Webster on head start

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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