head start

noun

Definition of head start

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

Siri had a few years’ head start among voice assistants and is now actively used on half a billion devices, including on iPhones, MacBook Pros and Apple Watches. — Rani Molla, Recode, "Voice tech like Alexa and Siri hasn’t found its true calling yet: Inside the voice assistant ‘revolution’," 12 Nov. 2018 As a result, Canada has become the frontrunner in the legal-weed industry, giving it a massive head start in a global pot market some peg at $150 billion. — Recode Staff, Recode, "Recode Daily: Inside the race to hack-proof the Democratic Party," 18 Oct. 2018 That exemption led to broader sports betting legislation passed in 2009 and Delaware’s NFL parlay wagering system, which gave the state a head start in offering more wagers. — Washington Post, "Place your bets: Delaware takes sports wagers, others close," 5 June 2018 Immediately after the adoption event, the RCCC will be hosting a training clinic to give new adopters a head start, according to the news release. — Kayla Fitzgerald, sacbee, "Wild horses trained by jail inmates are offered for adoption at Cal Expo," 31 May 2018 His father, a university professor, got a year’s head start to establish a home. — Conor Orr, SI.com, "The 2018 Draft Is an African Immigrant Story," 24 Apr. 2018 One way to do this would be to just always give a 5 second head start. — Rhett Allain, WIRED, "Physics Explains Why No One Can Beat the Freeze," 19 Apr. 2018 Sanchez and Woolridge launched their campaigns when Barton was still planning to seek re-election, giving them a head start on fundraising. — Andrea Drusch, star-telegram, "Democrat leads the pack in fundraising for retiring GOP Rep. Joe Barton’s seat | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 18 Apr. 2018 Get a head start on retirement and start saving early. — Vogue, "How Much Should You Really Be Saving in Your 20s?," 7 Nov. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'head start.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.