headway

Definitions

head (front, leading) + way (path, motion). Originally a nautical term: the headway of a ship is its forward motion through the water — its head pushing ahead. From that image it became the everyday metaphor for progress: pushing your head forward against resistance to move toward a goal.

Why It Means This

Headway almost never means a physical thing in modern English — it's the abstract sense of 'progress' that survives. It clings to a few fixed frames: you make headway (not 'do' or 'get'), and it is constantly negated or measured (little headway, slow headway, real headway). Picture a ship's bow forcing through water and you have the exact feel: forward motion earned against resistance.

Common Collocations

• 1.make headway取得进展
• 2.little headway几乎无进展
• 3.significant headway重大进展
• 4.make headway on在……上取得进展

Example Sentences

• 1.

  We're finally making headway on the project.

• 2.

  Doctors have made significant headway in treating the disease.

• 3.

  Negotiations made little headway over the weekend.

Easily Confused

headway vs progress — Both mean moving forward, but headway is almost always paired with make and stresses pushing against resistance (slow, hard-won). progress is broader and freer: make progress, track progress, progress bar. Use headway when there's a struggle; progress for any forward motion.