head
head
(hĕd) noun
Abbr. hd.
1.
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.
2. The seat of the faculty of reason; intelligence, intellect, or mind: I did the figuring in my head.
3. Mental ability or aptitude: She has a good head for mathematics.
4. Freedom of choice or action: Give the child his head and see how well he solves the problems.
5. Slang. a. A habitual drug user. b. An enthusiast.
6. A portrait or representation of a person's head.
7. Often heads
(used with a sing. verb) The side of a coin having the principal design and the date.
8. Informal. A headache: had a bad head early this morning.
9. a. An individual; a person: charged five dollars a head. b. head A single animal: 20 head of cattle.
10. 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.
11. The foremost or leading position: marched at the head of the parade.
12. A headwaiter.
13. a. The difference in depth of a liquid at two given points. b. 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.
14. The froth or foam that rises to the top in pouring an effervescent liquid, such as beer.
15. The tip of an abscess, a boil, or a pimple, in which pus forms.
16. A turning point; a crisis: bring matters to a head. See synonyms at crisis.
17. 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. Anatomy. The proximal end of a long bone: the head of the femur. c. The working end of a tool or an implement: the head of a hammer. d. The part of an explosive device that carries the explosive; a warhead.
18. a. An attachment to or part of a machine that holds or contains the operative device. b. The magnetic head of a tape recorder.
19. A rounded, compact mass, as of leaves or buds: a head of cabbage.
20. Botany. A flower head.
21. The uppermost part; the top: Place the appropriate name at the head of each column.
22. The end considered the most important: sat at the head of the table.
23. Either end of an object, such as a drum, whose two ends are interchangeable.
24. Nautical. a. The forward part of a vessel. b. The top part or upper edge of a sail.
25. A toilet, especially on a ship.
26. A passage or gallery in a coal mine.
27. Printing. a. The top of a book or of a page. b. A headline or heading. c. A distinct topic or category: under the head of recent Spanish history.
28. Headway; progress.
29. 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.
30. Vulgar Slang. Oral sex.
adjective
1.
Of, relating to, or intended for the head. Often used in combination: headshaking; headwrap.
2.
Foremost in rank or importance: the head librarian.
3.
Placed at the top or the front: the head name on the list.
4.
Slang. Of, relating to, or for drugs or drug users.
verb
headed
, heading, heads
verb
, transitive
1.
To be in charge of; lead: The minister headed the committee.
2.
To be in the first or foremost position of: Collins heads the list of job candidates.
3.
To aim, point, or turn in a certain direction: headed the team of horses up the hill.
4.
To remove the head or top of.
5.
Sports. To hit (a soccer ball) in the air with one's head.
6. To provide with a head: head each column with a number; headed the flagpole with a golden ball.
verb
, intransitive
1.
To proceed or go in a certain direction: head for town.
2.
To form a head, as lettuce or cabbage.
3.
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.
idiom.
head and shoulders above
Far superior to: head and shoulders above her colleagues in analytical capability.
head over heels
1.
Rolling, as in a somersault: tripped and fell head over heels.
2.
Completely; hopelessly: head over heels in love.
keep (one's) head
To remain calm; remain in control of oneself.
lose (one's) head
To lose one's poise or self-control.
off (one's) head or out of (one's) head
Insane; crazy.
put heads together
To consult and plan together: Let's put our heads together and solve this problem.
[Middle English, from Old English hēafod.]