head

1. the upper part of the body in humans, joined to the torso by the neck and containing the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

   Antonyms: foot

2. the upper part of the body in animals, often joined to the torso by the neck and containing the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
3. the head considered as the center of the intellect, as of thought, memory, understanding, or emotional control; mind; brain:

   She has a good head for mathematics.

   Keep a cool head in an emergency.

4. the position or place of leadership, greatest authority, or honor.
5. a person to whom others are subordinate, as the director of an institution or the manager of a department; leader or chief.

   Synonyms: chairperson, president, superintendent, principal, boss, superior, commander

6. a person considered with reference to their mind, disposition, attributes, status, etc.:

   wise heads;

   crowned heads.

7. that part of anything that forms or is regarded as forming the top, summit, or upper end:

   head of a pin;

   head of a page.

8. the foremost part or front end of anything or a forward projecting part:

   head of a procession.

9. the part of a weapon, tool, etc., used for striking:

   the head of a hammer.

10. a person or animal considered merely as one of a number, herd, or group:

    ten head of cattle;

    a dinner at $20 a head.

11. a culminating point, usually of a critical nature; crisis or climax:

    to bring matters to a head.

12. the hair covering the head:

    to wash one's head.

13. froth or foam at the top of a liquid:

    the head on beer.

14. Botany.
    1. any dense flower cluster or inflorescence.
    2. any other compact part of a plant, usually at the top of the stem, as that composed of leaves in the cabbage or lettuce, of leafstalks in the celery, or of flower buds in the cauliflower.
15. the maturated part of an abscess, boil, etc.
16. a projecting point of a coast, especially when high, as a cape, headland, or promontory.
17. the obverse of a coin, as bearing a head or other principal figure ( tail ).
18. one of the chief parts or points of a written or oral discourse; a main division of a subject, theme, or topic.
19. something resembling a head in form or a representation of a head, as a piece of sculpture.
20. the source of a river or stream.
21. Slang.
    1. a habitual user of a drug, especially LSD or marijuana (often used in combination):

       the feds versus the heads; an acid-head; a meth head; a pothead.

    2. a fan or devotee (usually used in combination):

       a punk-rock head.

22. heads, Distilling. alcohol produced during the initial fermentation. Compare tail ¹( def 6d ).
23. headline.
24. a toilet or lavatory, especially on a boat or ship.
25. Nautical.
    1. the forepart of a vessel; bow.
    2. the upper edge of a quadrilateral sail.
    3. the upper corner of a jib-headed sail.
    4. that part of the upper end of one spar of a mast that is overlapped by a spar above; a doubling at the upper end of a spar.
    5. that part of the upper end of a mast between the highest standing rigging and the truck.
    6. crown ( def 29 ).
26. Grammar.
    1. the member of an endocentric construction that belongs to the same form class and may play the same grammatical role as the construction itself.
    2. the member upon which another depends and to which it is subordinate: in former presidents, presidents is head and former is modifier.
27. the stretched membrane covering the end of a drum or similar musical instrument.
28. Mining. a level or road driven into solid coal for proving or working a mine.
29. Machinery. any of various devices on machine tools for holding, moving, indexing, or changing tools or work, as the headstock or turret of a lathe.
30. Railroads. railhead ( def 3 ).
31. (loosely) the pressure exerted by confined fluid:

    a head of steam.

32. Also called pressure head. Hydraulics.
    1. the vertical distance between two points in a liquid, as water, or some other fluid.
    2. the pressure differential resulting from this separation, expressed in terms of the vertical distance between the points.
    3. the pressure of a fluid expressed in terms of the height of a column of liquid yielding an equivalent pressure.
33. Also called magnetic head. Electronics. the part or parts of a tape recorder that record, play back, or erase magnetic signals on magnetic tape. Compare erasing head, playback head, recording head.
34. Computers. read/write head.
35. Photography.
    1. a mounting for a camera, as on a tripod.
    2. the part of an enlarger that contains the light source, negative carrier, lensboard, and lens.
36. Slang: Vulgar. fellatio or cunnilingus.
37. Archaic. power, strength, or force progressively gathered or gradually attained.
38. heads up! Informal. be careful! watch out for danger!

1. first in rank or position; chief; leading; principal:

   a head official.

   Synonyms: main, supreme, foremost, cardinal

   Antonyms: subordinate

2. of, relating to, or for the head (often used in combination):

   head covering;

   headgear;

   headpiece.

3. situated at the top, front, or head of anything (often used in combination):

   headline;

   headboard.

4. moving or coming from a direction in front of the head or prow of a vessel:

   head sea;

   head tide;

   head current.

5. Slang. of or relating to drugs, drug paraphernalia, or drug users.

1. to go at the head of or in front of; lead; precede:

   to head a list.

2. to outdo or excel; take the lead in or over:

   to head a race;

   to head one's competitors in a field.

   Synonyms: beat, surpass

3. to be the head or chief of (sometimes followed by up ): to head up a department.

   to head a school;

   to head up a department.

   Synonyms: govern, rule, command, direct

4. to direct the course of; turn the head or front of in a specified direction:

   I'll head the boat for the shore. Head me in the right direction and I'll walk to the store.

5. to go around the head of (a stream).
6. to furnish or fit with a head.
7. to take the head off; decapitate; behead.
8. to remove the upper branches of (a tree).
9. Fox Hunting. to turn aside (a fox) from its intended course.
10. to get in front of in order to stop, turn aside, attack, etc.
11. headline ( def 4 ).
12. Soccer. to propel (the ball) by striking it with the head, especially with the forehead.

1. to move forward toward a point specified; direct one's course; go in a certain direction:

   to head toward town.

2. to come or grow to a head; form a head:

   Cabbage heads quickly.

3. (of a river or stream) to have the head or source where specified.

verb phrase

1. to go before in order to hinder the progress of; intercept:

   The police headed off the fleeing driver at a railroad crossing.

1. Edith, 1897–1981, U.S. costume designer.

1. a native English suffix meaning “state of being” ( godhead; maidenhead ), occurring in words now mostly archaic or obsolete, many being superseded by forms in -hood.