as in wind
an air movement that is blowing toward something (such as a ship or an airplane) as it moves forward
Stiff headwinds caused the flight to take longer than expected.
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Recent Examples of headwind
Along with gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, this local off-year election has garnered national attention and is considered representative of political headwinds ahead of the 2026 midterms.
—
Emily Chang, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2025
That’s created the conditions in which two of the five remaining traditional studios feel the pressure to merge — to get bigger in order to withstand the headwinds.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 4 Nov. 2025
Air Mail’s fate shows that even the masters of the old form faced major headwinds when trying to navigate the new media landscape.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 3 Nov. 2025
Despite those headwinds, quarterly earnings reports from automakers are so far showing resilience.
—Camila Domonoske, NPR, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for headwind
Emily Chang, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2025
That’s created the conditions in which two of the five remaining traditional studios feel the pressure to merge — to get bigger in order to withstand the headwinds.
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 4 Nov. 2025
Air Mail’s fate shows that even the masters of the old form faced major headwinds when trying to navigate the new media landscape.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 3 Nov. 2025
Despite those headwinds, quarterly earnings reports from automakers are so far showing resilience.
—Camila Domonoske, NPR, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for headwind
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headwind
wind
Noun
-
Stay away from windows as flying debris generated by damaging winds can be deadly.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Engineering a circular blade lifecycle Despite the expansion in wind energy, major challenges remain primarily related to the design and manufacture of wind turbine blades.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Headwind.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headwind. Accessed 26 Nov. 2025.
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