headway

noun

head·​way ˈhed-ˌwā 

1

a

: motion or rate of motion in a forward direction

b

: advance, progress

2

: headroom (as under an arch) sufficient to allow passage

3

: the time interval between two vehicles traveling in the same direction on the same route

Synonyms

• progress
• advance
• process
• advancement
• progression
• procession

Examples of headway in a Sentence

the ant was making little headway carrying a crumb that was about five times his size

Recent Examples on the Web

During a brief break from touring at the beginning of March, Colonel wrote to Tom Diskin, clearly disheartened by his inability to make any headway with Neal. —Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025

On Niccol’s second earnings call, which was for Starbucks’ fiscal 2025 first quarter, the company touted some headway on its initiatives, even as its financial performance was, expectedly, still a drag. —Paulina Likos, CNBC, 28 July 2025

Innovators like Jay Choi are making significant headway in delivering healthcare services and medicines to those who need them most. —Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 12 July 2025

But since reaching $3433/oz in April gold has struggled to make meaningful headway, briefly returning to that all-time high late last week when Israel launched its aerial bombardment of Iran but failing to maintain upward momentum this week. —Tim Treadgold, Forbes.com, 17 June 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1730, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing headway

• make headway

Rhymes for headway

• airway
• allay
• archway
• array
• ashtray
• astray
• aue
• away
• ballet
• belay
• beltway
• beret

Kids Definition

headway

noun

head·​way -ˌwā 

1

: motion forward

2

: progress entry 1 sense 2