Meanings
head start1
plural head starts
- idiomaticAn advantage consisting in starting a competition or task earlier than might be expected; given (or taken), for example, prior to the beginning of a race.
a day and a half head start
2 more examples
Fred gave his younger brother a five-minute head start in the Easter egg hunt.
I want to set off at dawn to get a head start over the competition.
Synonyms: forestart
- idiomaticA factor conducive to superiority and success.
His father's money gave him a head start in life.
Head Start2
- USIn the United States, a government-funded preschool program for impoverished children.
And what do you do about homelessness in Los Angeles? These are hard questions. We can’t even make Head Start work, despite many billions and a lot of well-meaning people spending their lives on it.
2026 May 2, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, quoting Tucker Carlson, “Tucker Carlson Discusses Breaking With Trump, the Iran War and Antisemitism”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn advantage consisting in starting a competition or task earlier than might be expected; given (or taken), for example, prior to the beginning of a race.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Bulgarian фалстарт, преимущество
- фалстарт (falstart)an advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
- преимущество (preimuštestvo)factor conducive to superiority or success
Chinese Mandarin 先拔頭籌 /先拔头筹, 贏在起跑線 /赢在起跑线
- 先拔頭籌 /先拔头筹factor conducive to superiority or success
- 贏在起跑線 /赢在起跑线factor conducive to superiority or success
Czech náskok, výhoda
- náskokan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
- výhodafactor conducive to superiority or success
Danish forspring
- forspringan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
Dutch voorsprong
- voorsprongan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
Finnish etumatka, varaslähtö
- etumatkaan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
- varaslähtöfactor conducive to superiority or success
French longueur d’avance
- longueur d’avancean advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
German Vorsprung
- Vorsprungan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
Hungarian előny, egérút
- előnyan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
- egérútan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
Norwegian forsprang
- forsprangan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
Polish fory, fory
- foryan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
- foryfactor conducive to superiority or success
Russian преиму́щество, фо́ра
- преиму́щество (preimúščestvo)an advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
- фо́ра (fóra)an advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
- преиму́щество (preimúščestvo)factor conducive to superiority or success
- фо́ра (fóra)factor conducive to superiority or success
Spanish ventaja inicial, ventaje inicial (disused)
- ventaja inicialan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
- ventaje inicial (disused)an advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
- ir calentandoan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
- adelantarsean advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
- ventajafactor conducive to superiority or success
- ventaje (disused)factor conducive to superiority or success
Swedish försprång
- försprångan advantage in starting earlier to gain a favorable position
Cite this entry
head start. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20start
“head start.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20start. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “head start,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20start.
Source: head start on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.