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.phrasal verbB2
Definition

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

Example

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

Common collocations
  • make headway with/on
  • make little headway
  • make no headway
  • make real headway
  • make significant headway
  • slow headway
Synonyms
  • progress

    more general; 'make headway' emphasises overcoming difficulty

  • advance

    similar register, often used for groups or military

  • gain ground

    less common, more idiomatic

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

make headway (with something)

make headway (towards/toward something)

make headway (in something)

Usage Note

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.

Common Mistakes

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.

Synonym discussion

Sense: phrasal verb/1

'Make headway', 'progress', 'advance', and 'gain ground' all describe moving forward or improving. 'Make headway' specifically implies overcoming difficulty or resistance — you would use it when talking about slow but steady movement through obstacles. 'Progress' is the most general term (the project is progressing well) and can be used as both a verb and noun. 'Advance' often suggests organised, deliberate forward movement (troops advanced; technology has advanced). 'Gain ground' is the closest synonym but is less common and often used literally in military contexts or figuratively in competitive situations. For example: 'After the therapy, the patient made headway against the illness' emphasises the struggle, while 'the patient progressed well' simply states the improvement.

progress ↗advance ↗gain ground ↗

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

'Make headway' comes from nautical language, where 'headway' referred to a ship's forward motion through water. By the 19th century, the phrase had been adopted more broadly to describe any kind of forward progress, especially when pushing against resistance — much like a ship battling wind and waves.