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

took some extra classes to get a head start in college

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

Given a head start, contestants have to survive for 30 days, checking in every 24 hours and pursued by five armed and deadly hunters who are never short of tip-offs from the public. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025

Now, South Florida travelers will have a head start in solving the mystery. —Vinod Sreeharsha, Miami Herald, 11 Nov. 2025

That may err on the side of slightly wishful thinking, but the club at least has a better head start on eternal life than most. —Chris Willman, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025

The questionnaires are a way to weed out people with conflicts and also to provide a head start in picking a jury, which can be a laborious but vitally important part of the trial. —John Diedrich, jsonline.com, 6 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for head start

• apart
• depart
• flowchart
• forepart
• impart
• pushcart
• rampart
• redstart
• restart
• subpart
• sweetheart
• upstart

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