make headway

IPA/mˌeɪk hˈɛdweɪ/
IPA/mˌeɪk hˈɛdweɪ/

make headway — phrasal verb

  • make headwaybase form
  • makes headway3rd person singular
  • making headway-ing form
  • made headwaypast simple

1. to manage to get closer to achieving something or to reach a goal, especially af

1.片語動詞B2
釋義

to manage to get closer to achieving something or to reach a goal, especially after facing obstacles or delays.

例句

After months of practice, Anjali made real headway with her guitar and could play full songs.

collocation: make headway with [something]

The research team made significant headway towards finding a cure for the rare disease.

make + significant/real/good + headway

同義詞
  • progress

    more general; 'make headway' emphasises overcoming difficulty

  • advance

    similar register, often used for groups or military

  • gain ground

    less common, more idiomatic

反義詞

文法句型

make headway (with something)

make headway (towards/toward something)

make headway (in something)

用法筆記

Often used with adverbs like 'significant', 'real', 'good' (positive progress) or 'little', 'no', 'slow' (lack of progress). Commonly followed by the prepositions 'with', 'in', or 'towards' to specify the area of progress.

常見錯誤

❌I made headway to my goal.
✅I made headway toward my goal.
💡'headway' describes progress within an area, not movement towards a destination; use 'toward/towards' as the preposition.

✅ 'I made headway on my project.' or ✅ 'I made headway with my project.' — Both 'on' and 'with' are used; 'with' is more common in everyday speech, and 'on' is common in American English.