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

President Trump, who has vowed to turn the U.S. into the cryptocurrency capital of the world, got a head start on those plans by debuting new his-and-her meme coins — the $Trump and $Melania coins — over the weekend. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 20 Jan. 2025

Atlanta has had a head start on the teams eliminated from the playoffs, but that might be a good thing considering how much work the Falcons have to do. —Josh Kendall, The Athletic, 20 Jan. 2025

But this motorcyclist’s 15-minute head start gave him an advantage. —C.j. Chivers Robert Fass Krish Seenivasan Steven Szczesniak, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024

The New York Jets, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears, if interested, are among teams that have the opportunity to get a head start in the interview process with Vrabel. —George Monastiriakos, Newsweek, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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