to make headway

Examples

• All

• In the interim, women continued to make headway in the sport.

  Academic text (1998)

• I thought I was making headway on this; now I don't think so.

  Blog text (32)

• However, I got started early on this one and am making headway fast.

  Blog text (8)

• Finally, she believed she was getting somewhere, making headway.

  Fiction book (1996)

• Ending it may be a slow process, but we are making headway.

  Academic text (2003)

• Do you think you're making headway?

  In the Loop (2009)

• But researchers from Caltech have now made headway on the second point.

• Failure to make headway on economic reform led to lackluster performance between 2000 and 2004.

  Academic text (2008)

• But for progressive movements to make headway, they must situate themselves within concrete national traditions.

  Blog text (1)

• Demands for democracy are unlikely to make headway in fragmented societies such as Syria and Lebanon.

  Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

W

to work

vsto make headway

∞ 1.0

To move forward slowly while making steady progress

stresses progress specifically when it is slow or difficult

A

to advance

vsto make headway

417 3.4

To help something move forward or become better

focuses more on continuing progress when it is slow or difficult

M

to making progress

vsto make headway

251 2.8

Getting better at a task or skill you are working on

applies more to gradual progress under slow or difficult conditions

K

to keep it moving

vsto make headway

• Informal

161 4.4

Move forward without stopping or slowing down

implies slow or hard progress rather than continuous smooth motion

M

to move ahead

vsto make headway

61 2.7

To start or continue something so it gets closer to a goal

adds the idea of slow or difficult movement to general advancing

P

to push forward

vsto make headway

19 3.1

To keep making progress despite problems

emphasizes slow forward movement rather than forceful pushing through

G

to gain ground

vsto make headway

16 4.0

To make progress and become more successful than others

is about forward progress itself, not relative success against others

M

to march forward

vsto make headway

3 3.7

To move forward steadily despite problems

highlights making progress even when movement is slow or hard

M

to move the chains

vsto make headway

• Informal

1 7.6

To make steady progress toward a goal by taking small needed steps

refers to ongoing slow progress rather than staged, goal-based gains

M

to make ground

vsto make headway

1 4.6

To get closer to a goal

centres on making slow, often hard progress rather than gaining advantage

M

to make one's way

vsto make headway

3.4

To move forward through a place despite problems

focuses on steady progress often when movement is slow or hard

M

to make head against the current

vsto make headway

• UK

9.1

To move forward despite strong opposition or many difficulties

describes slow progress amid difficulty rather than fighting a current

Antonyms

S

to stall

166 4.3

To delay doing something on purpose to get more time

How Far

to advance

417 3.4

to make headway

9 3.5

to stall

166 4.3

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology