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View synonyms for head start

head start

or headstart

noun

  1. an advantage given or acquired in any competition, endeavor, etc., as allowing one or more competitors in a race to start before the others.


head start

noun

  1. an initial advantage in a competitive situation
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of head start1

First recorded in 1885–90
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Word History and Origins

Origin of head start1

originally referring to a horse's having its head in front of others at the start of a race
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Idioms and Phrases

An early start that confers an advantage, as in This year we'll get a head start on the competition by running more ads . The expression comes from racing, where it was used for a horse being given an advantage of several lengths over the others. Its extension to other areas dates from the early 1900s.
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Example Sentences

New Zealand flanker Dalton Papali'i had just picked off his pass and cantered in to give New Zealand a seven-point head start.

From BBC

Gogol’s classes sold out quickly in Los Angeles this year so go ahead and book early to give your gift recipient a head start on growing their own in 2025.

“Innovation is not easy. It’s really hard. Now we have a seven-year head start on everybody else, but it’s messy,” Hull said.

Actual high school student Rogen got a head start while still on set: “I told them I was doing correspondence school from Canada and just wrote ‘Superbad’ all day.”

Incumbent backup Easton Stick had a head start on the scheme by playing in all three preseason games, but Heinicke caught up by burying his head in the playbook for three weeks.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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