Dictionary Home » Dictionary Definitions » head

head

Listen See in Thesaurus See in a sentence

Head describes the person who is in charge. (adjective)

An example of head is the librarian in charge of the other librarians.

The head is the part of the body that comes out of your neck and that contains the eyes, nose, mouth and brains. (noun)

An example of head is the part of your body that helps you to see, hear, smell and think.

The head refers to the ends of the table or to the person. (noun)

An example of head is where the father and mother sit at the ends of the table.

To head is to take the lead or be in charge of. (verb)

An example of head is when you are the president of a company.

See head in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

1. the top part of the body in humans, the apes, etc., or the front part in most other animals: in higher animals it is a bony structure containing the brain, and including the jaws, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth
2. this part exclusive of the face
1. the head as the seat of reason, memory, and imagination; mind; intelligence: to use one's head
2. aptitude; ability: to have a head for mathematics
3. Informal a headache, esp. as part of a hangover
the head as a symbol for the individual; person: dinner at five dollars a head
pl. head the head as a unit of counting: fifty head of cattle
a representation of a head, as in painting or sculpture
the obverse of a coin, usually with such a representation
often heads
the highest or uppermost part or thing; top; specif.,
1. the top of a page, column of figures, etc.
2. a printed title at the top of a page, section of writing, etc.
3. a chief point of discussion; topic of a section, chapter, etc. in a speech or written work
4. a headline for a newspaper story
5. froth floating on newly poured effervescent beverages, esp. on beer
6. that end of a cask or barrel which is uppermost at any time
7. the upper edge or corner of a sail
the foremost part of a thing; front; specif.,
1. a part associated with the human head: the head of a bed
2. the end of a pier farthest from land
3. the front part of a ship; bow
4. Naut. a toilet, or lavatory
5. the front position, as of a column of marchers
6. either end of something; extremity
the projecting part of something; specif.,
1. the part designed for holding, pushing, striking, etc.: the head of a pin, the head of a golf club
2. a jutting mass of rock, land, etc. as of a mountain
3. a point of land; promontory; headland
4. a projecting place in a boil or other inflammation where pus is about to break through
5. the part of a tape recorder that records or plays back the magnetic signals on the tape
6. warhead
the membrane stretched across the end of a drum, tambourine, etc.; drumhead
the source of a flowing body of water; beginning of a stream, river, etc.
1. a source of water kept at some height to supply a mill, etc.
2. the height of such a source of water or the vertical distance through which it falls
3. a rush of water, as in a riptide
the pressure in an enclosed fluid, as steam, from its own weight or applied externally
a position of leadership, honor, or first importance: the head of the class
the person who is foremost or in charge; leader, ruler, chief, director, etc.
a headmaster
Bot.
1. a dense cluster of tiny sessile flowers attached to a common receptacle, as in the composite family
2. a large, compact bud: a head of cabbage
3. the uppermost part of a plant's foliage: the head of a tree
☆ Jazz
1. the melody or theme of a composition
2. an improvised, usually extemporaneous arrangement that is not written down
  in full head arrangement
Linguis. any word or word group in a construction that functions grammatically like the entire construction: “woman” is the head of “the woman who wrote that book”
Mining heading (sense )
Music the rounded part of a note, at the end of the stem
☆ Slang
1. a habitual user of a hallucinogen, stimulant, etc., as marijuana or cocaine: often in combination: acidhead
2. a person dedicated to, enthusiastic about, or addicted to some interest, activity, food, etc.: usually in combination: cheesehead

adjective

of or having to do with the head
most important; principal; commanding; first
to be found at the top or front
striking against the front: head winds

transitive verb

to be the chief of or in charge of; command; direct
1. to be at the top or beginning of; lead; precede: often with up: to head a list
2. to take a lead over, as in a race or competition
to supply (a pin, etc.) with a head
Rare to behead; decapitate
to trim the higher part from (a tree or plant); poll
☆ to go around the head of: to head a stream
to turn or cause to go in a specified direction: to head a car for home
Soccer to hit (the ball) with one's head

intransitive verb

to grow or come to a head
to set out; travel: to head eastward
☆ to originate, as a river

See head in American Heritage Dictionary 4

(hĕd)

noun

a. The uppermost or forwardmost part of the body of a vertebrate, containing the brain and the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and jaws.
b. The analogous part of an invertebrate organism.
c. The length or height of such a part: The horse lost by a head. She is two heads taller than he is.
The seat of the faculty of reason; intelligence, intellect, or mind: I did the figuring in my head.
Mental ability or aptitude: She has a good head for mathematics.
Freedom of choice or action: Give the child his head and see how well he solves the problems.
Slang
a. A habitual drug user. Often used in combination: a dopehead.
b. An enthusiast. Often used in combination: a chilihead.
A person considered foolish or contemptible. Often used in combination: a chowderhead.
A portrait or representation of a person's head.
(used with a sing. verb) The side of a coin having the principal design, often of the head of a famous person, and the date. Often used in the plural with a singular verb.
Informal A headache: had a bad head early this morning.
a. An individual; a person: charged five dollars a head.
b. pl. head head A single animal: 20 head of cattle.
a. A person who leads, rules, or is in charge; a leader, chief, or director: the head of the corporation.
b. A headmaster or headmistress.
The foremost or leading position: marched at the head of the parade.
A headwaiter.
a. The difference in depth of a liquid at two given points.
b. Abbr. hd. The measure of pressure at the lower point expressed in terms of this difference.
c. The pressure exerted by a liquid or gas: a head of steam.
d. The liquid or gas exerting the pressure.
The froth or foam that rises to the top in pouring an effervescent liquid, such as beer.
The tip of an abscess, boil, or pimple, in which pus forms.
A turning point; a crisis: bring matters to a head. See Synonyms at crisis.
a. A projection, weight, or fixture at the end of an elongated object: the head of a pin; a head of land overlooking the harbor.
b. The working end of a tool or implement: the head of a hammer.
c. The part of an explosive device that carries the explosive; a warhead.
d. The part of a stringed instrument where the strings are wound; a tuning head.
e. A tuning machine.
Anatomy
a. The rounded proximal end of a long bone: the head of the femur.
b. The end of a muscle that is attached to the less movable part of the skeleton.
a. An attachment to or part of a machine that holds or contains the operative device.
b. The magnetic head of a tape recorder or VCR.
c. The device in a magnetic disk or tape drive that enables it to read data from and write data to the disk or tape.
21. A rounded compact mass, as of leaves or buds: a head of cabbage.
22. Botany A flower head.
23. The uppermost part; the top: Place the appropriate name at the head of each column.
24. The end considered the most important: sat at the head of the table.
25. Either end of an object, such as a drum, whose two ends are interchangeable.
26. Nautical
a. The forward part of a vessel.
b. The top part or upper edge of a sail.
27. A toilet, especially on a ship.
28. A passage or gallery in a coal mine.
29. Abbr. hd. Printing
a. The top of a book or page.
b. A headline or heading.
c. A distinct topic or category: under the head of recent Spanish history.
30. Headway; progress.
31. Linguistics The word in a construction that has the same grammatical function as the construction as a whole and that determines relationships of concord to other parts of the construction or sentence in which the construction occurs.
32. Vulgar Slang Oral sex.

adjective

Of, relating to, or intended for the head. Often used in combination: headshaking; headwrap.
Foremost in rank or importance: the head librarian.
Placed at the top or the front: the head name on the list.
Slang Of, relating to, or for drugs or drug users.

verb head·ed, head·ing, heads heads

verb, transitive

To be in charge of; lead: The minister headed the committee.
To be in the first or foremost position of: Collins heads the list of job candidates.
To aim, point, or turn in a certain direction: headed the team of horses up the hill.
To remove the head or top of.
Sports To hit (a soccer ball) in the air with one's head.
To provide with a head: head each column with a number; headed the flagpole with a golden ball.

verb, intransitive

To proceed or go in a certain direction: head for town.
To form a head, as lettuce or cabbage.
To originate, as a stream or river; rise.

Phrasal Verb: head off To block the progress or completion of; intercept: Try to head him off before he gets home. The town headed off the attempt to build another mall.

(hĕd), Edith 1898?-1981.

American costume designer for more than 1,000 motion pictures, including All About Eve (1950) and A Place in the Sun (1951).

See head in Ologies

Head