| / English Dictionary |
HEAD
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Oral stimulation of the genitals
Example:
they say he gives good head
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
perversion; sexual perversion (an aberrant sexual practice)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "head"):
cunnilinctus; cunnilingus (oral stimulation of the vulva or clitoris)
fellatio; fellation (oral stimulation of the penis)
sixty-nine; soixante-neuf (oral sex practiced simultaneously by two people)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A single domestic animal
Example:
200 head of cattle
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
domestic animal; domesticated animal (any of various animals that have been tamed and made fit for a human environment)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A membrane that is stretched taut over a drum
Synonyms:
drumhead; head
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
membrane (a thin pliable sheet of material)
Holonyms ("head" is a part of...):
drum; membranophone; tympan (a musical percussion instrument; usually consists of a hollow cylinder with a membrane stretched across each end)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A projection out from one end
Example:
a pinhead is the head of a pin
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
projection (any structure that branches out from a central support)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "head"):
pinhead (the head of a pin)
Holonyms ("head" is a part of...):
bolt (a screw that screws into a nut to form a fastener)
nail (a thin pointed piece of metal that is hammered into materials as a fastener)
pin (a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things)
screw (a fastener with a tapered threaded shank and a slotted head)
Sense 5
Meaning:
(nautical) a toilet on board a boat or ship
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
bathroom; can; john; lav; lavatory; privy; toilet (a room or building equipped with one or more toilets)
Sense 6
Meaning:
The striking part of a tool
Example:
the head of the hammer
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
striker (the part of a mechanical device that strikes something)
Meronyms (parts of "head"):
face (the striking or working surface of an implement)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "head"):
club-head; club head; clubhead; golf-club head ((golf) the head of the club which strikes the ball)
hammerhead (the striking part of a hammer)
Holonyms ("head" is a part of...):
ram (a tool for driving or forcing something by impact)
hammer (a hand tool with a heavy rigid head and a handle; used to deliver an impulsive force by striking)
Sense 7
Meaning:
(usually plural) the obverse side of a coin that usually bears the representation of a person's head
Example:
call heads or tails!
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
obverse (the side of a coin or medal bearing the principal stamp or design)
Domain usage:
plural; plural form (the form of a word that is used to denote more than one)
Holonyms ("head" is a part of...):
coin (a flat metal piece (usually a disc) used as money)
Antonym:
tail ((usually plural) the reverse side of a coin that does not bear the representation of a person's head)
Sense 8
Meaning:
(computer science) a tiny electromagnetic coil and metal pole used to write and read magnetic patterns on a disk
Synonyms:
head; read/write head
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
coil (reactor consisting of a spiral of insulated wire that introduces inductance into a circuit)
Domain category:
computer science; computing (the branch of engineering science that studies (with the aid of computers) computable processes and structures)
Sense 9
Meaning:
That part of a skeletal muscle that is away from the bone that it moves
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing and its construction and arrangement)
Holonyms ("head" is a part of...):
skeletal muscle; striated muscle (a muscle that is connected at either or both ends to a bone and so move parts of the skeleton; a muscle that is characterized by transverse stripes)
Sense 10
Meaning:
The upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
Example:
he stuck his head out the window
Synonyms:
caput; head
Classified under:
Nouns denoting body parts
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
external body part (any body part visible externally)
Meronyms (parts of "head"):
muzzle (forward projecting part of the head of certain animals; includes the jaws and nose)
ear (the sense organ for hearing and equilibrium)
arteria basilaris; basilar artery (an unpaired artery; supplies the pons and cerebellum and the back part of the cerebrum and the inner ear)
brain; encephalon (that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord)
skull (the bony skeleton of the head of vertebrates)
face; human face (the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear)
temple (the flat area on either side of the forehead)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "head"):
human head (the head of a human being)
Holonyms ("head" is a part of...):
animal; animate being; beast; brute; creature; fauna (a living organism characterized by voluntary movement)
body; organic structure (the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being))
Sense 11
Meaning:
The rounded end of a bone that fits into a rounded cavity in another bone to form a joint
Example:
the head of the humerus
Classified under:
Nouns denoting body parts
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
anatomical structure; bodily structure; body structure; complex body part; structure (a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing and its construction and arrangement)
Sense 12
Meaning:
That which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions; the seat of the faculty of reason
Example:
I couldn't get his words out of my head
Synonyms:
brain; head; mind; nous; psyche
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
cognition; knowledge; noesis (the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "head"):
subconscious; subconscious mind (psychic activity just below the level of awareness)
unconscious; unconscious mind (that part of the mind wherein psychic activity takes place of which the person is unaware)
ego ((psychoanalysis) the conscious mind)
tabula rasa (a young mind not yet affected by experience (according to John Locke))
noddle (an informal British expression for head or mind)
Sense 13
Meaning:
(grammar) the word in a grammatical constituent that plays the same grammatical role as the whole constituent
Synonyms:
head; head word
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
word (a unit of language that native speakers can identify)
Domain category:
grammar (the branch of linguistics that deals with syntax and morphology (and sometimes also deals with semantics))
Sense 14
Meaning:
A line of text serving to indicate what the passage below it is about
Example:
the heading seemed to have little to do with the text
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
line (text consisting of a row of words written across a page or computer screen)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "head"):
crosshead; crossheading (a heading of a subsection printed within the body of the text)
headline; newspaper headline (the heading or caption of a newspaper article)
lemma (the heading that indicates the subject of an annotation or a literary composition or a dictionary entry)
rubric (a title or heading that is printed in red or in a special type)
running head; running headline (a heading printed at the top of every page (or every other page) of a book)
subhead; subheading (a heading of a subdivision of a text)
rubric; statute title; title (a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with)
Sense 15
Meaning:
The subject matter at issue
Example:
under the head of minor Roman poets
Synonyms:
head; question
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
subject; theme; topic (the subject matter of a conversation or discussion)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "head"):
problem (a question raised for consideration or solution)
matter of fact; question of fact (a disputed factual contention that is generally left for a jury to decide)
matter of law; question of law (a disputed legal contention that is generally left for a judge to decide)
Sense 16
Meaning:
A V-shaped mark at one end of an arrow pointer
Example:
the point of the arrow was due north
Synonyms:
head; point
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
mark (a written or printed symbol (as for punctuation))
Holonyms ("head" is a part of...):
arrow; pointer (a mark to indicate a direction or relation)
Sense 17
Meaning:
Forward movement
Example:
the ship made little headway against the gale
Synonyms:
head; headway
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
advance; progress; progression (a movement forward)
Derivation:
head (direct the course; determine the direction of travelling)
head (to go or travel towards)
head (travel in front of; go in advance of others)
Sense 18
Meaning:
A difficult juncture
Example:
matters came to a head yesterday
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural events
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
juncture; occasion (an event that occurs at a critical time)
Sense 19
Meaning:
The front of a military formation or procession
Example:
they were at the head of the attack
Classified under:
Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
formation (an arrangement of people or things acting as a unit)
Domain category:
armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)
Antonym:
rear (the back of a military formation or procession)
Derivation:
head (direct the course; determine the direction of travelling)
head (to go or travel towards)
head (travel in front of; go in advance of others)
head (be the first or leading member of (a group) and excel)
heady (marked by defiant disregard for danger or consequences)
Sense 20
Meaning:
The source of water from which a stream arises
Example:
they tracked him back toward the head of the stream
Synonyms:
fountainhead; head; headspring
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
beginning; origin; root; rootage; source (the place where something begins, where it springs into being)
Sense 21
Meaning:
The part in the front or nearest the viewer
Example:
he was at the head of the column
Synonyms:
forefront; head
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
forepart; front; front end (the side that is forward or prominent)
Derivation:
head (be the first or leading member of (a group) and excel)
head (be in the front of or on top of)
head (travel in front of; go in advance of others)
head (to go or travel towards)
head (direct the course; determine the direction of travelling)
Sense 22
Meaning:
The top of something
Example:
the head of the list
Classified under:
Nouns denoting spatial position
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
top (the upper part of anything)
Antonym:
foot (the lower part of anything)
Derivation:
head (be in the front of or on top of)
Sense 23
Meaning:
The foam or froth that accumulates at the top when you pour an effervescent liquid into a container
Example:
the beer had a large head of foam
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
foam; froth (a mass of small bubbles formed in or on a liquid)
Sense 24
Meaning:
A rounded compact mass
Example:
the head of a comet
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
object; physical object (a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow)
Sense 25
Meaning:
A natural elevation (especially a rocky one that juts out into the sea)
Synonyms:
foreland; head; headland; promontory
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
elevation; natural elevation (a raised or elevated geological formation)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "head"):
point (a promontory extending out into a large body of water)
mull (a term used in Scottish names of promontories)
Instance hyponyms:
Cape Hatteras (a promontory on Hatteras Island off the Atlantic coast of North Carolina)
Cape Canaveral; Cape Kennedy (a sandy promontory (formerly Cape Kennedy) extending into the Atlantic Ocean from a barrier island off the eastern coast of Florida; the site of a NASA center for spaceflight)
Cape Sable (a promontory on the far southern part of Nova Scotia)
Abila; Abyla; Jebel Musa (a promontory in northern Morocco opposite the Rock of Gibraltar; one of the Pillars of Hercules)
Calpe; Gibraltar; Rock of Gibraltar (location of a colony of the United Kingdom on a limestone promontory at the southern tip of Spain; strategically important because it can control the entrance of ships into the Mediterranean; one of the Pillars of Hercules)
Cape Horn (a rocky headland belonging to Chile at the southernmost tip of South America (south of Tierra del Fuego))
Sense 26
Meaning:
A user of (usually soft) drugs
Example:
the office was full of secret heads
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
drug user; substance abuser; user (a person who takes drugs)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "head"):
acid head (someone who takes LSD)
hash head (a user of hashish)
pill head (a consumer of amphetamine pills)
pothead (someone who smokes marijuana habitually)
Sense 27
Meaning:
A person who is in charge
Example:
the head of the whole operation
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
leader (a person who rules or guides or inspires others)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "head"):
secretary (a person who is head of an administrative department of government)
head of household (the head of a household or family or tribe)
grand dragon (a high ranking person in the Ku Klux Klan)
general manager (the highest ranking manager)
general; superior general (the head of a religious order or congregation)
don; father (the head of an organized crime family)
department head (the head of a department)
capo (the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate)
administrator; decision maker (someone who administers a business)
administrator; executive (someone who manages a government agency or department)
Derivation:
head (be in charge of)
head (be the first or leading member of (a group) and excel)
headship (the position of head)
Sense 28
Meaning:
An individual person
Example:
tickets are $5 per head
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
individual (a single organism)
Sense 29
Meaning:
The educator who has executive authority for a school
Example:
she sent unruly pupils to see the principal
Synonyms:
head; head teacher; principal; school principal
Classified under:
Nouns denoting people
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
educator; pedagog; pedagogue (someone who educates young people)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "head"):
headmistress (a woman headmaster)
headmaster; master; schoolmaster (presiding officer of a school)
chancellor (the honorary or titular head of a university)
Derivation:
headship (the position of headmaster or headmistress)
headship (the position of head)
Sense 30
Meaning:
The pressure exerted by a fluid
Example:
a head of steam
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
force per unit area; pressure; pressure level (the force applied to a unit area of surface; measured in pascals (SI unit) or in dynes (cgs unit))
Sense 31
Meaning:
A dense cluster of flowers or foliage
Example:
a head of lettuce
Synonyms:
capitulum; head
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
plant organ (a functional and structural unit of a plant or fungus)
Sense 32
Meaning:
The length or height based on the size of a human or animal head
Example:
his horse won by a head
Classified under:
Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
linear measure; linear unit (a unit of measurement of length)
Sense 33
Meaning:
The tip of an abscess (where the pus accumulates)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("head" is a kind of...):
Holonyms ("head" is a part of...):
abscess (symptom consisting of a localized collection of pus surrounded by inflamed tissue)
II. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they head ... he / she / it heads
Past simple: headed
Past participle: headed
-ing form: heading
Sense 1
Meaning:
Remove the head of
Example:
head the fish
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Hypernyms (to "head" is one way to...):
remove; take; take away; withdraw (remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 2
Meaning:
Direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
Synonyms:
channelise; channelize; direct; guide; head; maneuver; manoeuver; manoeuvre; point; steer
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "head" is one way to...):
command; control (exercise authoritative control or power over)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "head"):
park (maneuver a vehicle into a parking space)
corner; tree (force a person or an animal into a position from which he cannot escape)
channel (direct the flow of)
navigate; pilot (act as the navigator in a car, plane, or vessel and plan, direct, plot the path and position of the conveyance)
conn (conduct or direct the steering of a ship or plane)
starboard (turn to the right, of helms or rudders)
stand out (steer away from shore, of ships)
navigate (direct carefully and safely)
crab (direct (an aircraft) into a crosswind)
helm (be at or take the helm of)
pull over (steer a vehicle to the side of the road)
sheer (cause to sheer)
dock (maneuver into a dock)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something PP
Derivation:
head (forward movement)
head (the front of a military formation or procession)
head (the part in the front or nearest the viewer)
heading (the direction or path along which something moves or along which it lies)
Sense 3
Meaning:
To go or travel towards
Example:
We were headed for the mountains
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "head" is one way to...):
continue; go forward; proceed (move ahead; travel onward in time or space)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "head"):
make; take (head into a specified direction)
Sentence frames:
Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP
Sentence example:
They head up the hill
Derivation:
head (forward movement)
head (the front of a military formation or procession)
head (the part in the front or nearest the viewer)
heading (the direction or path along which something moves or along which it lies)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Travel in front of; go in advance of others
Example:
The procession was headed by John
Synonyms:
head; lead
Classified under:
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming
Hypernyms (to "head" is one way to...):
lead; precede (move ahead (of others) in time or space)
Verb group:
head; head up (be the first or leading member of (a group) and excel)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "head"):
draw away (move ahead of (one's competitors) in a race)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
head (the part in the front or nearest the viewer)
head (the front of a military formation or procession)
head (forward movement)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Be in charge of
Example:
Who is heading this project?
Synonyms:
head; lead
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "head" is one way to...):
direct (be in charge of)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "head"):
chair; chairman (act or preside as chair, as of an academic department in a university)
captain (be the captain of a sports team)
spearhead (be the leader of)
take charge; take control; take hold (assume control)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
head (a person who is in charge)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Form a head or come or grow to a head
Example:
The wheat headed early this year
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "head" is one way to...):
form (assume a form or shape)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s
Sense 7
Meaning:
Be in the front of or on top of
Example:
The list was headed by the name of the president
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "head" is one way to...):
lie (be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "head"):
surmount (be on top of)
crown (form the topmost part of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Derivation:
head (the part in the front or nearest the viewer)
head (the top of something)
header; heading (a line of text serving to indicate what the passage below it is about)
Sense 8
Meaning:
Be the first or leading member of (a group) and excel
Example:
This student heads the class
Synonyms:
head; head up
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "head" is one way to...):
be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))
Verb group:
head; lead (travel in front of; go in advance of others)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Derivation:
head (the front of a military formation or procession)
head (the part in the front or nearest the viewer)
head (a person who is in charge)
Sense 9
Meaning:
Take its rise
Example:
These rivers head from a mountain range in the Himalayas
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "head" is one way to...):
arise; develop; grow; originate; rise; spring up; uprise (come into existence; take on form or shape)
Sentence frame:
Something is ----ing PP
Context examples:
Perrault found one with head buried in the grub-box.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
Amy got no farther, for Jo's hot temper mastered her, and she shook Amy till her teeth chattered in her head, crying in a passion of grief and anger...
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
I was conscious of the Professor's hand on my head, and started awake all in a second.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
“It’s nasty weather like this here that turns heads grey before their time,” he said, with a nod toward the pilot-house.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
“Our difficulties are not over,” he remarked, shaking his head.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The veil of self-indulgence was rent from head to foot.
(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Then it was that there came into my head the first of the mad notions that contributed so much to save our lives.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
She shook her head when she heard where I was going, but she did not say nay, and so it was settled.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The jugglers were on their heads once more, bounding about with rigid necks, playing the while in perfect time and tune.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The snows descended on my head, and I saw the print of his huge step on the white plain.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
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