head

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main…

   The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.

   • Be careful when you pet that dog on the head; it may bite.
   • Afore we got to the shanty Colonel Applegate stuck his head out of the door. His temper had been getting raggeder all the time, and the sousing he got when he fell overboard had just about ripped what was left of it to ravellings.
2. 2

   The topmost, foremost, or leading part.

   • What does it say at the head of the page?
   • Men that I knew around Wapatomac didn't wear high, shiny plug hats, nor yeller spring overcoats, nor carry canes with ivory heads as big as a catboat's anchor, as you might say.
3. 3

   A leader or expert.

   • I'd like to speak to the head of the department.
   • Police arrested the head of the gang in a raid last night.
   • He's (the) head of a project here.
4. ›+ 28 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A significant or important part.

      • The expedition followed the river all the way to the head.
   2. 5

      Headway

      Headway; progress.

      • We are having a difficult time making head against this wind.
   3. 6

      Topic

      Topic; subject.

      • We will consider performance issues under the head of future improvements.
   4. 7

      Denouement

      Denouement; crisis.

      • These issues are going to come to a head today.
      • Northumberland, thou Ladder wherewithall / The mounting Bullingbrooke aſcends my Throne, / The time ſhall not be many houres of age, / More then it is, ere foule ſinne, gathering head, / Shall breake into corruption […]
      • The indiſpoſition which has long hung upon me, is at laſt grown to ſuch an head, that it muſt quickly make an end of me, or of itſelf.
   5. 8

      Pressure and energy.

      • Let the engine build up a good head of steam.
      • How much head do you have at the Glens Falls feeder dam?
   6. 9

      Fellatio or cunnilingus

      Fellatio or cunnilingus; oral sex.

      • She gave great head.
      • Danny got head last night.
   7. 10

      The glans penis.

   8. 11

      A heavy or habitual user of illicit drugs.

      • The term, "head," is, of course, not new with hippies. It has a long history among drug users generally, for whom it signified a regular, experienced user of any illegal drug—e.g., pot "head," meth "head," smack (heroin) "head."
      • The hutch now looks like a “Turkish bath,” and the heads have their arms around one another, passing the pipe and snapping their fingers as they sing Smokey Robinson's “Tracks of My Tears” into the night.
   9. 12

      Power

      Power; armed force.

      • My lord, my lord, the French have gathered head:
   10. 13

       Of, relating to, or intended for the head.

   11. 14

       To be in command of. (See also head up.)

       • Who heads the board of trustees?
       • to head an army, an expedition, or a riot
   12. 15

       To come at the beginning or front of

       To come at the beginning or front of; to commence.

       • A group of clowns headed the procession.
       • The most important items headed the list.
   13. 16

       To strike with the head

       • to head the ball
   14. 17

       To move in a specified direction.

       • We are going to head up North for our holiday.
       • We will head off tomorrow.
       • Next holiday we will head out West, or head to Chicago.
   15. 18

       To remove the head from (a fish).

       • Near-synonyms: behead, dehead
       • The salmon are first headed and then scaled.
   16. 19

       To originate

       To originate; to spring; to have its course, as a river.

       • a broad purling river, that heads in the great blue ridge of mountains,
       • The Templeton heads in the Cloncurry ranges[.]
   17. 20

       To form a head.

       • This kind of cabbage heads early.
       • To be honest, this hasn't been my Garden of Eden year. […] The lettuce turned bitter and bolted. The Green Comet broccoli was good, but my coveted Romanescos never headed up.
   18. 21

       To form a head (on or to)

       To form a head (on or to); to fit or furnish (something) with a head.

       • to head a nail
   19. 22

       To cut off the top of

       To cut off the top of; to lop off.

       • to head trees
   20. 23

       To behead

       To behead; to decapitate.

       • I tell thee, man of God, the uncharitableness of the sect to which thou pertainest has thronged the land of punishment as much as those who headed, and hanged, and stabbed, and shot, and tortured.
       • If you head, and hang all that offend that way but for ten yeare together; you'll be glad to giue out a Commission for more heads
   21. 24

       To go in front of.

       • to head a drove of cattle
       • to head a person
   22. 25

       To get in the front of, so as to hinder or stop

       To get in the front of, so as to hinder or stop; to oppose.

       • The wind headed the ship and made progress difficult.
   23. 26

       To check or restrain.

   24. 27

       To set on the head.

       • to head a cask
   25. 28

       Foremost in rank or importance.

       • the head cook
       • At the far end of the houses the head gardener stood waiting for his mistress, and he gave her strips of bass to tie up her nosegay. This she did slowly and laboriously, with knuckly old fingers that shook.
   26. 29

       Placed at the top or the front.

   27. 30

       Coming from in front.

       • head sea
       • head wind
   28. 31

       A surname from Middle English, from residence near a hilltop or the head of a river, or a…

       A surname from Middle English, from residence near a hilltop or the head of a river, or a byname for someone with an odd-looking head.

The neighborhood

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