Idiom
Hit the ground running
To hit the ground running is to start a new job, project or activity quickly and effectively, without needing time to settle in.
How people use it
People use it about new employees, coaches, students and teams (we need someone who can hit the ground running). It is common in job ads and workplace talk, where it is a compliment or an expectation. The tone is informal but business-friendly. It suggests energy and readiness from day one. Some people find it an overused piece of office jargon.
Examples
- Ana had already read the files, so she hit the ground running on her first day.
- The new coach hit the ground running and changed the practice schedule within a week.
- We want volunteers who can hit the ground running when the festival starts.
Where it comes from
No one knows for sure. Some link it to soldiers who had to move fast the moment they left a landing craft or parachute, and others to people jumping from moving trains or horses and landing at a run. Whatever the source, the phrase became especially popular in American business talk in the late 1900s.
Check yourself
1. What does a company mean if it wants a new hire who can hit the ground running?
Answer: Someone who can start working well right away. Hit the ground running means being effective from the very start.
2. Which sentence uses the idiom correctly?
Answer: Leo prepared all summer, so he hit the ground running when classes began.. Being ready from the first day fits. A slow start is the opposite, and the tripping sentence is literal.
Similar idioms
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