What does "headwind" mean?

A wind that blows directly against the course of a vehicle, like an aircraft, train, or ship.

Headwind

//ˈhɛdˌwɪnd// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A wind that blows directly against the course of a vehicle, like an aircraft, train, or ship.
2
wind blowing opposite to the path of a ship or aircraft wordnet
3
A strong force that impedes or reverses progress.
""Domestic economic activity has been gaining traction in spite of formidable headwinds from external developments," the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its monthly bulletin."

Verb

1
To blow directly against the course of a vehicle, like an aircraft, train, or ship. transitive, uncommon
2
To impede or reverse progress. idiomatic, uncommon

"The headwind blew against the sail."

From Middle English *hedwind, from Old English hēafodwind, equivalent to head + wind. Cognate with Old Norse höfuðvindr.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.