Noun
(plural headcounts)
- The act of counting how many people are present in a group.
- The number of people present in a group or employed by a company.
- More generally, a consideration of a company's appropriate staffing level based on some larger context. (Generally used adjectivally.)
- By extension, one slot in a workgroup, filled or to be filled by one person.
Usage notes
The two-word spelling head count refers neutrally to simple counts. The one-word spelling headcount tends to have a business jargon feel to it, especially when used adjectivally in phrases such as "headcount reduction", or in the extrapolated case where it refers to one person or one job opening.
Origin
compounding of head count
