headway
/ˈhɛdweɪ/noun
headway is spelled H-E-A-D-W-A-Y: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, headway means “A movement ahead or forward” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of headway is headways.
How many letters and syllables are in headway?
| Letters | 7: H-E-A-D-W-A-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.1 times per million words; the 27,462nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is headway?
Headway appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,462nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce headway?
- /ˈhɛdweɪ/
Headway has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-headway.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of headway
- headways plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does headway mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A movement ahead or forward.
- 2
Forward motion, or its rate.
- 3
The interval of time or distance between the fronts of two vehicles (e.g. buses) moving in succession in the same direction, especially along the same predetermined route.
- 4
Progress toward a goal.
- 5
The clearance beneath an object, such as an arch, ceiling or bridge; headroom.
- 6
A crossheading.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Headway in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | lichte Höhe , Vorwärtsfahrt , Takt, Fahrzeugabstand , Fortschritt |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does headway come from?
Partly from Middle English hauedwei, from Old English hēafodweġ (“head-road, main-road”); partly as a shortening of ahead-way, the source of the nautical sense. By surface analysis, head + way.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).