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head

On a human body, the head is the part with your skull, brain, eyes, ears, and mouth. Nod your head if you understand which part of your body includes your head.

In music, the head of a drum is a membrane that stretches over the drum's shell. When you strike the head with sticks or brushes, you can create rhythms. A person who is in charge of a group of people is also called a head. The principal is the head of the school. As a verb, head can also mean to be in charge of or to move in a particular direction.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: head

1	n v	the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains be in charge of
2	n v	the top of something be in the front of or on top of
3	n	oral stimulation of the genitals
4	n	(nautical) a toilet on board a boat or ship
5	n	(grammar) the word in a grammatical constituent that plays the same grammatical role as the whole constituent

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: head

n the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains

“he stuck his head out the window”

Synonyms:: caput

Types:: human head
the head of a human being; bullethead
a head shaped like a bullet; attic, bean, bonce, dome, noggin, noodle
informal terms for a human head

Type of:: external body part
any body part visible externally

n the length or height based on the size of a human or animal head

“he is two heads taller than his little sister”

“his horse won by a head”

Type of:: linear measure, linear unit
a unit of measurement of length

n that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason

“I couldn't get his words out of my head”

Synonyms:: brain, mind, nous, psyche

Types:: show 5 types...; hide 5 types...; noddle
an informal British expression for head or mind; tabula rasa
a young mind not yet affected by experience (according to John Locke); ego
(psychoanalysis) the conscious mind; unconscious, unconscious mind
that part of the mind wherein psychic activity takes place of which the person is unaware; subconscious, subconscious mind
psychic activity just below the level of awareness

Type of:: cognition, knowledge, noesis
the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning

n a person who is in charge

“the head of the whole operation”

Synonyms:: chief, top dog

Examples:: show 6 examples...; hide 6 examples...; Haman
(Old Testament) the minister of the Persian emperor who hated the Jews and was hanged for plotting to massacre them; Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles
British colonial administrator who founded Singapore (1781-1826); Cesar Ritz
Swiss hotelier who created a chain of elegant hotels (1850-1918); Petrus Stuyvesant
the last Dutch colonial administrator of New Netherland; in 1664 he was forced to surrender the colony to England (1592-1672); Ahmed Zoki Yamani
Saudi Arabian minister of petroleum who was a central figure in the creation of OPEC (born in 1930); Albert Gore Jr.
Vice President of the United States under Bill Clinton (born in 1948)

Types:: show 39 types...; hide 39 types...; administrator, executive
someone who manages a government agency or department; administrator, decision maker
someone who administers a business; capo
the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate; department head
the head of a department; don, father
the head of an organized crime family; general, superior general
the head of a religious order or congregation; general manager
the highest ranking manager; grand dragon
a high ranking person in the Ku Klux Klan; head of household
the head of a household or family or tribe; secretary
a person who is head of an administrative department of government; academic administrator
an administrator in a college or university; commissioner
a government administrator; director, manager, managing director
someone who controls resources and expenditures; DCI, Director of Central Intelligence
the head of the United States Intelligence Community and director of the Central Intelligence Agency; executive, executive director
a person responsible for the administration of a business; hosteller, hotel manager, hotelier, hotelkeeper, hotelman
an owner or manager of hotels; land agent
a person who administers a landed estate; materfamilias, matriarch
a female head of a family or tribe; paterfamilias, patriarch
the male head of family or tribe; prefect
a chief officer or chief magistrate; Attorney General, US Attorney General, United States Attorney General
the person who holds the position of secretary of the Justice Department; Agriculture Secretary, Secretary of Agriculture
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Agriculture; Commerce Secretary, Secretary of Commerce
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Commerce; Defense Secretary, Secretary of Defense
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Defense Department; Education Secretary, Secretary of Education
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Education; Energy Secretary, Secretary of Energy
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Energy; Secretary of Health and Human Services
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Health and Human Services; Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Labor Secretary, Secretary of Labor
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Labor; Secretary of State
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of State; Interior Secretary, Secretary of the Interior
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Interior Department; Secretary of the Treasury, Treasury Secretary
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Treasury Department; Secretary of Transportation, Transportation Secretary
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Transportation; Secretary of Veterans Affairs
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Veterans Affairs; Secretary General
a person who is a chief administrator (as of the United Nations); security director
head of a private security force working for a business or industry; triumvir
one of a group of three sharing public administration or civil authority especially in ancient Rome; undersecretary
a secretary immediately subordinate to the head of a department of government; vice chancellor
a deputy or assistant to someone bearing the title of chancellor

Type of:: leader
a person who rules or guides or inspires others

n the educator who has executive authority for a school

Synonyms:: head teacher, principal, school principal

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; chancellor
the honorary or titular head of a university; headmaster, master, schoolmaster
presiding officer of a school; headmistress
a woman headmaster; housemaster
teacher in charge of a school boardinghouse

Type of:: educator, pedagog, pedagogue
someone who educates young people

n an individual person

“tickets are $5 per head”

Type of:: individual
a single organism

n a user of (usually soft) drugs

“the office was full of secret heads”

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; 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

Type of:: drug user, substance abuser, user
a person who takes drugs

n a single domestic animal

“200 head of cattle”

Type of:: domestic animal, domesticated animal
any of various animals that have been tamed and made fit for a human environment

n (usually plural) the obverse side of a coin that usually bears the representation of a person's head

“call heads or tails!”

Antonyms:: tail
(usually plural) the reverse side of a coin that does not bear the representation of a person's head

Type of:: obverse
the side of a coin or medal bearing the principal stamp or design

v be in charge of

“Who is heading this project?”

Synonyms:: lead

Types:: show 5 types...; hide 5 types...; 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; move in on
seize control of

Type of:: direct
be in charge of

v be the first or leading member of (a group) and excel

“This student heads the class”

Synonyms:: head up

: lead
travel in front of; go in advance of others

Type of:: be
have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)

v direct the course; determine the direction of travelling

Synonyms:: channelise, channelize, direct, guide, maneuver, manoeuver, manoeuvre, point, steer

Types:: show 18 types...; hide 18 types...; dock
maneuver into a dock; sheer
cause to sheer; pull over
steer a vehicle to the side of the road; helm
be at or take the helm of; crab
direct (an aircraft) into a crosswind; navigate
direct carefully and safely; stand out
steer away from shore, of ships; starboard
turn to the right, of helms or rudders; conn
conduct or direct the steering of a ship or plane; navigate, pilot
act as the navigator in a car, plane, or vessel and plan, direct, plot the path and position of the conveyance; canalise, canalize, channel
direct the flow of; corner, tree
force a person or an animal into a position from which he cannot escape; park
maneuver a vehicle into a parking space; dry-dock, drydock
maneuver (a ship) into a drydock; astrogate
guide in interplanetary travel; angle-park
park at an angle; parallel-park
park directly behind another vehicle; double-park
park a vehicle alongside another

Type of:: command, control
exercise authoritative control or power over

v remove the head of

“head the fish”

Type of:: remove, take, take away, withdraw
remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract

n the top of something

“the head of the stairs”

“the head of the page”

“the head of the list”

Antonyms:: foot
the lower part of anything

Type of:: top
the upper part of anything

n the part in the front or nearest the viewer

“he was at the head of the column”

Synonyms:: forefront

Type of:: forepart, front, front end
the side that is forward or prominent

n the front of a military formation or procession

“the head of the column advanced boldly”

“they were at the head of the attack”

Antonyms:: rear
the back of a military formation or procession

Type of:: formation
an arrangement of people or things acting as a unit

n forward movement

Synonyms:: headway

Type of:: advance, progress, progression
a movement forward

n a projection out from one end

“"the head of the nail", "a pinhead is the head of a pin”

Types:: pinhead
the head of a pin

Type of:: projection
any structure that branches out from a central support

n a V-shaped mark at one end of an arrow pointer

Synonyms:: point

Type of:: mark
a written or printed symbol (as for punctuation)

n the striking part of a tool

“the head of the hammer”

Types:: 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

Type of:: striker
the part of a mechanical device that strikes something

n the rounded end of a bone that fits into a rounded cavity in another bone to form a joint

“the head of the humerus”

Type of:: anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, structure
a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing

n that part of a skeletal muscle that is away from the bone that it moves

Type of:: anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, structure
a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing

n the tip of an abscess (where the pus accumulates)

Type of:: peak, point, tip
a V shape

n a natural elevation (especially a rocky one that juts out into the sea)

Synonyms:: foreland, headland, promontory

Examples:: show 6 examples...; hide 6 examples...; Cape Horn
a rocky headland belonging to Chile at the southernmost tip of South America (south of Tierra del Fuego); 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 Hatteras
a promontory on Hatteras Island off the Atlantic coast of North Carolina; Cape Canaveral
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; Jebel Musa
a promontory in northern Morocco opposite the Rock of Gibraltar; one of the Pillars of Hercules

Types:: mull
a term used in Scottish names of promontories; point
a promontory extending out into a large body of water

Type of:: elevation, natural elevation
a raised or elevated geological formation

n the source of water from which a stream arises

“they tracked him back toward the head of the stream”

Synonyms:: fountainhead, headspring

Type of:: beginning, origin, root, rootage, source
the place where something begins, where it springs into being

n a rounded compact mass

“the head of a comet”

Type of:: object, physical object
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow

n a dense cluster of flowers or foliage

“a head of cauliflower”

“a head of lettuce”

Synonyms:: capitulum

Type of:: plant organ
a functional and structural unit of a plant or fungus

n a line of text serving to indicate what the passage below it is about

“the heading seemed to have little to do with the text”

Synonyms:: header, heading

Types:: show 12 types...; hide 12 types...; 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; running title
the title (or a shortened title) of a book used as a running head; drop line, dropline, stagger head, staggered head, stephead, stepped line
a headline with the top line flush left and succeeding lines indented to the right; screamer
a sensational newspaper headline; banner, streamer
a newspaper headline that runs across the full page; title
a general or descriptive heading for a section of a written work

Type of:: line
text consisting of a row of words written across a page or computer screen

n the subject matter at issue

“under the head of minor Roman poets”

Synonyms:: question

Types:: show 12 types...; hide 12 types...; 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; mystifier, puzzle, puzzler, teaser
a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution; case
a problem requiring investigation; homework problem
a problem that students are assigned to do outside of class; brain-teaser, conundrum, enigma, riddle
a difficult problem; poser, sticker, stumper, toughie
a particularly difficult or baffling question or problem; Gordian knot
any very difficult problem; insoluble in its own terms; koan
a paradoxical anecdote or a riddle that has no solution; used in Zen Buddhism to show the inadequacy of logical reasoning; pons asinorum
a problem that severely tests the ability of an inexperienced person; rebus
a puzzle where you decode a message consisting of pictures representing syllables and words

Type of:: subject, theme, topic
the subject matter of a conversation or discussion

n the foam or froth that accumulates at the top when you pour an effervescent liquid into a container

“the beer had a large head of foam”

Type of:: foam, froth
a mass of small bubbles formed in or on a liquid

n the pressure exerted by a fluid

“a head of steam”

Type 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)

n (computer science) a tiny electromagnetic coil and metal pole used to write and read magnetic patterns on a disk

Synonyms:: read/write head

Type of:: coil
reactor consisting of a spiral of insulated wire that introduces inductance into a circuit

n a membrane that is stretched taut over a drum

Synonyms:: drumhead

Type of:: membrane
a thin pliable sheet of material

n a difficult juncture

“matters came to a head yesterday”

Synonyms:: pass, straits

Type of:: juncture, occasion
an event that occurs at a critical time

v be in the front of or on top of

“The list was headed by the name of the president”

Types:: surmount
be on top of; crown
form the topmost part of; pinnacle
surmount with a pinnacle

Type of:: lie
be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position

v travel in front of; go in advance of others

“The procession was headed by John”

Synonyms:: lead

: head up
be the first or leading member of (a group) and excel

Types:: draw away
move ahead of (one's competitors) in a race

Type of:: lead, precede
move ahead (of others) in time or space

v to go or travel towards

“where is she heading”

“We were headed for the mountains”

Types:: make, take
head into a specified direction

Type of:: continue, go forward, proceed
move ahead; travel onward in time or space

v form a head or come or grow to a head

“The wheat headed early this year”

Type of:: form
assume a form or shape

v take its rise

“These rivers head from a mountain range in the Himalayas”

Type of:: arise, develop, grow, originate, rise, spring up, uprise
come into existence; take on form or shape

n oral stimulation of the genitals

“they say he gives good head”

Synonyms:: oral sex

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; 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; blowjob, cock sucking
slang for fellatio

Type of:: perversion, sexual perversion
an aberrant sexual practice;

n (nautical) a toilet on board a boat or ship

Type of:: bathroom, can, john, lav, lavatory, privy, toilet
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets

n (grammar) the word in a grammatical constituent that plays the same grammatical role as the whole constituent

Synonyms:: head word

Type of:: word
a unit of language that native speakers can identify

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