head

UK /ˈhɛd/ US /ˈhɛd/

noun 5verb 5adj 4name 1

Definitions

noun

The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.

Be careful when you pet that dog on the head; it may bite.

Afore we got to the shanty Colonel Applegate stuck his head out of the door. His temper had been getting raggeder all the time, and the sousing he got when he fell overboard had just about ripped what was left of it to ravellings.

The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.

The company is looking for people with good heads for business.

He has no head for heights.

The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.

This song keeps going through my head.

“Anthea hasn't a notion in her head but to vamp a lot of silly mugwumps. She's set her heart on that tennis bloke[…]whom the papers are making such a fuss about.”

The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.

He found whist, and gymkhanas, and things of that kind (meant to amuse one after office) good; but he took them seriously, too, just as seriously as he took the “head” that followed after drink.

"Now you have done it, Spuds," said Cripps. "You'll have an awful head on you tomorrow."

The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.

a laced head

a head of hair

adj

Of, relating to, or intended for the head.

verb

To be in command of. (See also head up.)

Who heads the board of trustees?

to head an army, an expedition, or a riot

To come at the beginning or front of; to commence.

A group of clowns headed the procession.

The most important items headed the list.

To strike with the head

to head the ball

To move in a specified direction.

We are going to head up North for our holiday.

We will head off tomorrow.

To remove the head from (a fish).

Near-synonyms: behead, dehead

The salmon are first headed and then scaled.

Collocations

(verb.) go

ADV

north, northwards, etc.

After the conference ended, they headed south toward the beach for a relaxing weekend.

back

After the movie finished, we decided to head back to the car before it got too late.

PREP

back to

After the movie ended, we headed back to the car in the parking lot.

for

The children headed for the beach as soon as school finished on Friday afternoon.

towards

The lost hikers walked towards the mountain village as the sun began to set.

(verb.) be in charge of sth

ADV

jointly

Two professors jointly headed the research project that won the international award.

VERB + HEAD

appoint sb to

The company appointed him to head the new marketing department last month.

(noun.) part of the body

ADJ

bare

bald

shaved

blonde, dark, fair, grey, greying

bent, bowed

The old man walked slowly down the street with a bent head.

severed

The archaeologist carefully examined the severed head found during the excavation.

VERB + HEAD

poke, pop, put, stick

She poked her head into the office to see if anyone was there.

bob, cock, crane, incline, jerk, tilt, turn

He tilted his head to listen more carefully to what his friend was saying.

lift, raise

bend, bow, drop, duck, hang, lower

She dropped her head to hide the tears rolling down her cheeks.

swing, throw back, toss

She swung her head around to see who was calling her name.

nod, shake

When I asked if she wanted dessert, she shook her head and said she was too full.

scratch

The math problem was so difficult that everyone in class was scratching their heads.

clutch, hold

She held her head steady as the doctor examined her neck injury.

bury

When the embarrassing photos were posted online, he buried his head in shame for weeks.

shave

HEAD + VERB

ache, throb

bob, jerk, nod, tilt, turn

The child's head bobbed up and down excitedly when she saw the puppies.

droop, drop, hang down, hang low

When she felt embarrassed, her head drooped and she looked down at her shoes.

HEAD + NOUN

injury

cold

PREP

above your ~

A flock of birds suddenly flew above our heads as we walked through the park.

over your ~

The fireworks exploded over our heads while we watched from the beach.

PHRASES

from head to foot/toe

The swimmer was soaked from head to toe after diving into the pool.

a fine/good, etc. head of hair

have/hold/put, etc. your head in your hands

After receiving the bad news, she held her head in her hands and began to cry.

head first

The excited child ran head first down the stairs without looking where he was going.

a nod of the head

She gave a slight nod of the head to show she understood what he meant.

a shake of the head

When I asked if he wanted dessert, he gave a quick shake of the head.

(noun.) mind

ADJ

clear, cool, level

After the argument, he took a walk to clear his head before making any decisions.

good

She has a good head for business and built her company from nothing.

VERB + HEAD

use

When you're trying to solve a difficult problem, remember to use your head and think carefully.

enter

It didn't enter her head that the meeting had been cancelled until she arrived at the office.

get it into

I tried to get it into my head that I needed to study harder for the exam.

put sth into

My teacher put the importance of hard work into my head from day one.

get sth out of, put sth out of

She couldn't put the argument out of her head all day long.

bother

She didn't bother her head about what other people thought of her choices.

HEAD + VERB

spin

After the roller coaster ride, Maria's head was spinning and she needed to sit down.

PREP

in your ~

When I'm stressed, I try to solve my problems in my head before asking for advice.

inside your ~

She kept worrying about the exam all day, even though the questions were running inside her head.

PHRASES

can't get your head round sth

need your head examined

If you think spending all your money on lottery tickets is smart, you need your head examined.

(noun.) heads: side of a coin

VERB + HEAD

call

When we flipped a coin, my friend called heads but lost the bet.

come down/up

PHRASES

heads or tails?

(noun.) of a group/organization/school, etc.

ADJ

deputy

departmental

nominal, titular

The president serves as nominal head of the organization while the director handles daily operations.

crowned

The crowned heads of Europe gathered for the royal wedding ceremony.

HEAD + NOUN

gardener, teacher, waiter

boy, girl

PHRASES

a head of department, the head of the family, a head of government/state

The head of government announced new policies during the press conference yesterday.

a head of (the) household

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a membrane that is stretched taut over a drum

drumhead

noun — the upper part of the human body or the front part of the bo

caput

noun — that which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and

noun — a line of text serving to indicate what the passage below it

noun — the subject matter at issue

question

noun — a V-shaped mark at one end of an arrow pointer

point

noun — forward movement

headway

noun — a difficult juncture

pass
straits

noun — the source of water from which a stream arises

noun — the part in the front or nearest the viewer

forefront

noun — a natural elevation (especially a rocky one that juts out in

noun — a person who is in charge

chief

noun — the educator who has executive authority for a school

principal

noun — a dense cluster of flowers or foliage

capitulum

verb — direct the course

verb — travel in front of

lead

verb — be in charge of

lead

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

hold over someone's head

To harp on; to remind continuously (especially of a misstep or defeat).

I get one parking ticket and he holds it over my head for six months.

give head

To perform oral sex on another person.

But she never lost her head / Even when she was giving head

make head or tail of

To understand even minimally.

See if you can make head or tail of the last section in this chapter. I'm baffled.

over one's head

More complex or confusing than one can understand; beyond one’s comprehension.

This is way over my head. Can you explain it more simply?

hit the nail on the head

To identify something exactly; to arrive at exactly the right answer.

He hit the nail on the head when he said the problem was the thermostat.

Example Bank

Be careful when you pet that dog on the head; it may bite.

Wiktionary

The company is looking for people with good heads for business.

Wiktionary

Who heads the board of trustees?

Wiktionary

to head an army, an expedition, or a riot

Wiktionary

A group of clowns headed the procession.

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, head is marked as figuratively. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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