# head

Pronunciation: say "HED" /ˈhɛd/

## Noun

1. The part of the body that contains the brain, mouth and main sense organs.
   - Simple: The part of the body with the brain, eyes and mouth.
   - _She shook her head and said nothing._
   - _Heads turned as the car went by._
3. A leader or expert, especially the person in charge of a group.
   - Simple: The person in charge of a group or organization.
   - _The head of the family made the decision._
   - _Department heads meet on Mondays._
4. The mind, or one's own thoughts.
   - Simple: Your mind and the thoughts in it.
   - _Get it into your head that we're leaving._
   - _He did the sums in his head._
7. The top, front or most important end of something, such as a list, a procession, a table or a bed.
   - Simple: The top or front part of something, like a list, a line of people or a table.
   - _Her name stands at the head of the list._
   - _As the guest of honor, she sat at the head of the table._
9. A dense clump of leaves, flowers, or seeds on a plant, including the flower cluster known as a capitulum.
   - Simple: A tight ball or bunch of leaves, flowers, or seeds on a plant.
   - _Cut the head of cabbage into quarters before steaming it._
   - _Farmers wait until the wheat heads turn gold before harvesting._
10. An individual person or animal considered as a unit in counting; for livestock the plural stays head.
   - Simple: One person or animal, counted as a unit, as in ten dollars a head or fifty head of cattle.
   - _The caterer charged by the head._
   - _Count heads before the bus leaves._
11. A heading or title at the top of a section of writing, or a headline in a newspaper.
   - Simple: A title at the top of part of a piece of writing, or a headline in a newspaper.
   - _Under the head "Travel Costs," the report lists every flight and hotel bill._
   - _The report's heads are numbered for reference._
13. The layer of froth that rises to the top of a poured beer or other fizzy drink.
   - Simple: The foam that sits on top of a glass of beer.
   - _A good stout has a thick, creamy head._
   - _Tilt the glass to keep the head small._
14. The striking end of a hammer, axe, golf club or similar implement.
   - Simple: The heavy end of a hammer or axe that hits things.
   - _Fit a new head to the old handle._
   - _Steel heads outlast wooden handles._
15. The end of a nail, screw, bolt or similar fastener opposite the point, usually blunt and wide.
   - Simple: The flat, wide end of a nail or screw, opposite the point.
   - _The hammer slipped off the head of the nail._
   - _Countersunk heads sit flush with the wood._
17. The teacher in charge of a school. *(Ireland, UK)*
   - Simple: The teacher who runs a school.
   - _Our head retires this summer after twenty years._
   - _Heads of local schools met the minister._
18. A river's starting point, or the end of a lake receiving water from a river.
   - Simple: The place where a river begins, or where it enters a lake.
   - _Snowmelt feeds the head of the stream._
   - _The heads of both rivers lie in the same hills._
19. A natural aptitude or capacity, intellectual or emotional, for a particular activity.
   - Simple: A natural ability for something, often used with 'for'.
   - _You need a head for figures in that job._
   - _She has a good head for languages._
20. A mass of hair growing on the head, as in a head of hair (formerly also a headdress).
   - Simple: All the hair on someone's head, as in a thick head of hair.
   - _A head of white curls framed her face._
   - _Even at eighty he had a full head of silver hair._
21. A headland: a point of high land jutting out into the sea. *(British)*
   - Simple: A high piece of land that sticks out into the sea.
22. The part of an internal combustion engine that closes the top of the cylinders, usually holding the valves and often the spark plugs or injectors.
   - Simple: The top part of an engine that closes the cylinders and usually holds the valves.
   - _The head bolts to the block with ten studs._
   - _The mechanic took the head off the engine and found a crack running between two of the valve seats._
23. The membrane of a drum that is struck to produce the sound.
   - Simple: The skin stretched over a drum that you hit to make a sound.
   - _Loosen the head before you pack the drum._
   - _Plastic heads replaced calfskin in the sixties._
24. Pressure built up in a fluid, often stated as a measured figure called pressure head.
   - Simple: Pressure that builds up in a liquid or a gas, such as water or steam.
   - _The fireman kept shoveling coal until the boiler had a full head of steam._
   - _With more head behind the dam, the turbines generate more power._
25. The sharpened tip fitted to or forming the end of an arrow, spear, or pointer.
   - Simple: The sharp, pointed piece at the front of an arrow or spear, or the tip of a pointer.
   - _Each hunting arrow carries a steel head shaped like a leaf._
   - _The spear's iron head was still sharp after centuries in the ground._
28. The glans: the rounded tip of the penis.
   - Simple: The rounded tip of the penis.
   - _He caught the head in his zipper and spent the evening with an ice pack._
   - _He pulled back his foreskin in the shower and noticed a red spot on the head._
29. Oral sex, either fellatio or cunnilingus. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Sex in which one person uses their mouth on the other's private parts.
   - _The phrase give head is not for polite company._
   - _He admitted he had never given head before._
30. A headache, especially one caused by drinking too much.
   - Simple: A headache, often from drinking too much alcohol.
   - _He had a thick head after the office party and skipped breakfast._
   - _Cheap champagne always leaves me with a head the next day._
31. The bow of a vessel.
   - Simple: The front of a ship, the bow.
   - _Keep her head to the sea in this swell._
   - _Both boats had their heads to the shore._
32. A machine component that picks up electromagnetic signals from, or records them onto, a storage medium such as magnetic tape.
   - Simple: The part of a machine that reads or records sound or data on a tape or disk.
   - _The drive failed when the read head scraped the spinning disk._
   - _Technicians cleaned the heads with alcohol before the recording session._
33. A toilet aboard a ship.
   - Simple: A toilet on a ship.
   - _The recruit spent his first morning at sea scrubbing the head._
   - _On the old destroyer, forty sailors shared two cramped heads._
34. The point at which a growing problem or conflict reaches a crisis and has to be resolved, as in come to a head.
   - Simple: The moment when a problem that has been growing becomes serious and must be dealt with.
   - _Months of tension between the coach and the players came to a head at Tuesday's practice._
   - _The leaked report brought the long-running dispute over the budget to a head._
35. The tip of an abscess, the point at which its pus gathers.
   - Simple: The end of an infected, swollen spot where pus (thick yellowish liquid) gathers.
   - _Warm compresses can help an abscess form a head so that it drains on its own._
   - _The nurse warned him not to squeeze the head of the abscess._
8. The main face of a coin, which often shows a portrait head, named as one of the two possible calls in a coin toss.
   - Simple: The side of a coin with a picture of a head, which you can call when a coin is flipped.
   - _The referee flipped the coin, the visiting captain called heads, and it came up tails._
   - _We couldn't agree on a restaurant, so it was heads for pizza and tails for tacos._

## Verb

2. To make one's way, or set out, toward a place or in a given direction.
   - Simple: To go in a certain direction or toward a place.
   - _Where are you headed?_
   - _We'll head for open sea at dawn._
5. To be in command or charge of a group, organization or undertaking.
   - Simple: To lead or run a group or an organization.
   - _Who will head the inquiry?_
   - _The delegation was headed by the foreign minister._
12. To strike something with the head.
   - Simple: To hit a ball with your head.
   - _Defenders head the ball clear._
   - _The striker headed it over the bar._
26. To occupy the first position in something, either at its beginning or at its front.
   - Simple: To be at the front or the start of something.
   - _A quotation from Milton will head the chapter._
   - _The column was headed by a brass band._

## Adjective

6. Foremost in rank or importance.
   - Simple: Most important, ranking above the others.
   - _She is head teacher at the village school._
   - _Report to the head office in the morning._
16. Coming from in front, against the direction of travel.
   - Simple: Coming at you from the front as you travel.
   - _The pilot allowed for a head wind on the climb._
   - _Head seas broke green over the bow._
27. Situated at the very front or top; leading.
   - Simple: In first place, or at the very top.
   - _The head carriage carried the band._
   - _The head car of the train was packed with commuters._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The rounded end of a bone that fits against another bone to form a joint, such as a ball-and-socket or pivot joint.
- (noun) Progress or forward movement, usually against something opposing.
- (verb) To cut off the top of a tree or plant; to lop.
- (noun) The total stock of wild animals hunted in an area.
- (noun) The bony growths on a deer's skull, usually branched, taken together.
- (noun) In pool, the short end of the table from which players break, across from the racked balls.
- (noun) The frame at the top of a lacrosse stick, with the net pocket used to catch and carry the ball.
- (noun) On a milling machine, the housing that holds the rotating spindle and cutter.
- (noun) The closed, often curved, cap that seals each end of a cylindrical tank built to hold pressure.
- (noun) The flat round piece that closes either end of a barrel or cask.
- (noun) The top end of a valley, where it starts in higher ground.
- (noun) Loose material lying at the upper end of a series of rock layers.
- (noun) The top end of a guitar's neck, where the tuning pegs are fitted.
- (noun) The upper border of a sail, or the highest corner of a three-sided sail.
- (noun) Someone who knows a great deal about hip hop music and culture.
- (noun) The seed-bearing spike at the top of a stalk of wheat, barley, or a similar grain.
- (noun) The crown of a tree, its leafy upper part.
- (noun) The row of tiles laid along the lower edge of a roof, at the eaves.
- (noun) The chief tune of a composition, especially in jazz, played before and after the solos.
- (noun) The part of a compound or phrase that decides its word class or grammatical type, as "house" does in "greenhouse."
- (noun) The earliest portion collected when distilling, made up of the liquids that boil off at the lowest temperatures.
- (noun) A subject or theme, especially one of the sections a discussion is divided into.
- (noun) The height of fluid between two levels in a column, or the pressure this height creates at the lower level.
- (noun) In fluid mechanics, the energy carried by a body of fluid, measured per unit of its weight.
- (noun) Someone who takes illegal drugs regularly or in large amounts.
- (noun) A body of armed troops gathered together, or the military strength it gives.
- (adjective) Relating to or meant for the part of the body above the neck.
- (verb) To cut off a fish's head, usually when preparing it for cooking.
- (verb) Of a river or stream, to rise or have its source in a particular place.
- (verb) Of a plant, to develop a compact cluster of leaves, flowers or seeds, as cabbage or broccoli do.
- (verb) To shape the end of an object into a head, or fit it with a separate one.
- (verb) To cut off the head of a person or animal.
- (verb) To lead, moving ahead of others.
- (verb) To get ahead of someone or something in order to block or turn it back.
- (verb) To hold back or keep under control.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–5, 7–15, 17–26, 28–35** — From Middle English hed, from Old English hēafod ("head; top; chief"), from Proto-West Germanic *haubud and Proto-Germanic *haubudą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *káput. It is related to Dutch hoofd, German Haupt, and Latin caput, and is a doublet of cape, caput, chef, and chief.
**Meanings 6, 16, 27** — Proto-West Germanic *haubida-, built on the noun *haubid ("head"), gave Old English hēafod- ("main") and then Middle English heed. West Frisian haad-, Dutch hoofd-, and German haupt- are relatives.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/head (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).