headquarters

Pluralheadquarters

1. 1
   nouncountable

   The central office from which an organization's operations and administration are directed.

   The charity runs its global programs from a modest headquarters in Geneva.

   After the merger, both firms relocated their headquarters under one roof.

   Similarbase

   Note

   The form is plural, but the agreement often is not. Jordan Valinsky's 2025 CNN Business report on KFC writes that the corporate headquarters "is leaving Kentucky," treating the word as one office with a singular verb. A plural verb also works, and fits best when the speaker has the staff or several buildings in mind. Whichever you choose, keep it consistent within a sentence. There is no singular noun "headquarter."

2. 2
   nouncountable

   The military installation from which troops are commanded and orders issued, or the unit made up of a commander and supporting staff.

   Division headquarters relayed the advance order to every frontline unit.

   She was reassigned from the field to brigade headquarters as a staff officer.

   Similarcommand

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A place that serves as the focal point of intense activity or influence in some area.

   The corner pub became the unofficial headquarters of the town's chess scene.

   For decades that bookstore was the headquarters of the city's literary life.

   Similarhub, center, home

   Note

   The extended sense reaches past offices to movements and scenes. The China Review of 1888 places "the head-quarters of the rebellion" in a small town in Yunnan. That older hyphenated spelling has since closed up, and its plural verb ("were") contrasts with the singular common in the corporate meaning. The word suits any cause, craze or circle with a center of gravity, often paired with "unofficial."

4. 4
   verbUS

   Third-person singular simple present of headquarter.

   The corporation headquarters its global operations in Singapore.

   The nonprofit headquarters its relief efforts near the affected region.

   Note

   Here the final -s is a verb ending, not a plural, so one spelling serves both the noun and this present-tense form. The base verb headquarter is marked as American. It works transitively (a firm headquarters its operations in Singapore) and intransitively, meaning to set up headquarters. Careful writers outside the US may prefer "has its headquarters in."

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