HEADWAY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does headway mean? 

• HEADWAY (noun)
  The noun HEADWAY has 2 senses:

1. vertical space available to allow easy passage under something

2. forward movement

  Familiarity information: HEADWAY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HEADWAY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Vertical space available to allow easy passage under something

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

clearance; headroom; headway

Hypernyms ("headway" is a kind of...):

elbow room; room; way (space for movement)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Forward movement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

head; headway

Context example:

the ship made little headway against the gale

Hypernyms ("headway" is a kind of...):

advance; progress; progression (a movement forward)

 Context examples 

In the meanwhile we had been making headway at a good pace for a boat so overloaded, and we had shipped but little water in the process.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The boat lost headway, and, as we lifted on a huge surge, toppled and fell into the trough.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

You can hardly realize, then, how difficult I found it at first, and how long I had to wait before I succeeded in making any headway.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You have been working hard, but you may feel frustrated that you haven’t made enough headway toward a better position or more income.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Time and again and countless times we watched the boat luff into the big whitecaps, lose headway, and be flung back like a cork.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)