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

This is a huge head start for first-time bettors on DraftKings Sportsbook. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Apr. 2025

Leroux and Riley’s head start in building a community of fans via social media made the property attractive to AMP. —William Earl, Variety, 22 Apr. 2025

More than just pipes in the ground—this network represents a head start on scaling up distribution. —David Blackmon, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025

To give program graduates a head start, Mr. Ogbole provides them with seeds and a small plot of land at Soilless Farm Lab’s site. —Kate Okorie, Christian Science Monitor, 8 Apr. 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