to face a headwind
- phrasal verb
:
enfrentar un obstáculo
- Many startups face a headwind when raising capital during economic downturns.
Examples
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The company will face a headwind as it enters a competitive market.
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Despite their best efforts, the team continued to face a headwind from regulatory changes.
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She had to face a headwind during the race.
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We faced a headwind on our way to the summit.
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Many startups face a headwind when trying to grow in a challenging economy.
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Despite the challenges, the project team continues to face a headwind in securing funding.
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The organization must face a headwind as it navigates new regulations affecting its operations.
Synonyms
5
3.9
Deal with a difficult problem or situation
3
5.8
Face a problem that slows progress or makes things harder
2
5.3
To face an unexpected problem that prevents progress
Manage to get through a difficult situation
Antonyms
How Difficult
∞
2.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to experience obstacles or resistance' is directly derivable from combining 'face' (to confront) with 'headwind' (a wind that hinders movement); the phrase straightforwardly maps to confronting opposing forces. This wind-as-resistance metaphor is common cross-linguistically and the indefinite article does not alter compositionality, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the figurative sense.
Etymology
Face a headwind comes from the image of a person turning their face into a strong headwind; the wind pushes against them and makes it hard to move forward. So, it means 'to experience obstacles or resistance that make progress more difficult'.