make headway

verb

To progress; to move forward.

“I worked on them all day, but barely made headway at all.”

Similar
gainadvancewinpull aheadget aheadgain ground
Opposite
tread water
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Meanings

verbmake headway (third-person singular simple present makes headway, present participle making headway, simple past and past participle made headway)

present singular third person makes headway · participle present making headway · participle past made headway · past made headway

  1. idiomaticTo progress; to move forward.

    I worked on them all day, but barely made headway at all.

    Antonyms: tread water

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo progress; to move forward.

Opposite
tread water

More synonyms by meaning

verbobtain advantages, such as points, etc.

Similar
gainadvancewinpull aheadget aheadgain ground
Broader
obtain
Also see
advancegaingain groundget aheadmove aheadmove alongpull aheadwin

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Finnish edetä, edistyä
  • edetäprogress
  • edistyäprogress
French progresser, avancer
  • progresserprogress
  • avancerprogress
Latin prōficiō
  • prōficiōprogress
Polish postępować, postąpić
  • postępowaćprogress
  • postąpićprogress
Portuguese abrir caminho
  • abrir caminhoprogress
Tamil முன்னேறு
  • முன்னேறு (muṉṉēṟu)progress
Cite this entry
APA

make headway. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20headway

MLA

“make headway.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20headway. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “make headway,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/make%20headway.

Source: make headway on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.