head
Other forms: heads; headed; heading
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.
Definitions of head
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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”
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synonyms:
caput
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types:
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human head
the head of a human being
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bullethead
a head shaped like a bullet
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attic, bean, bonce, dome, noggin, noodle
an informal term for a human head
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type of:
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external body part
any body part visible externally
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human head
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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”
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type of:
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linear measure, linear unit
a unit of measurement of length
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linear measure, linear unit
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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”
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types:
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noddle
an informal British expression for head or mind
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tabula rasa
a young mind not yet affected by experience (according to John Locke)
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ego
(psychoanalysis) the conscious mind
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unconscious, unconscious mind
that part of the mind wherein psychic activity takes place of which the person is unaware
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subconscious, subconscious mind
psychic activity just below the level of awareness
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a person who is in charge“the head of the whole operation”
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types:
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administrator, executive
someone who manages a government agency or department
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administrator, decision maker
someone who administers a business
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capo
the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate
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department head
the head of a department
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don, father
the head of an organized crime family
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general, superior general
the head of a religious order or congregation
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general manager
the highest ranking manager
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grand dragon
a high ranking person in the Ku Klux Klan
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head of household
the head of a household or family or tribe
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secretary
a person who is head of an administrative department of government
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academic administrator
an administrator in a college or university
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commissioner
a government administrator
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director, manager, managing director
someone who controls resources and expenditures
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DCI, Director of Central Intelligence
the head of the United States Intelligence Community and director of the Central Intelligence Agency
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executive, executive director
a person responsible for the administration of a business
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hosteller, hotel manager, hotelier, hotelkeeper, hotelman
an owner or manager of hotels
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land agent
a person who administers a landed estate
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materfamilias, matriarch
a female head of a family or tribe
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paterfamilias, patriarch
the male head of family or tribe
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prefect
a chief officer or chief magistrate
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Attorney General, US Attorney General, United States Attorney General
the person who holds the position of secretary of the Justice Department
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Agriculture Secretary, Secretary of Agriculture
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Agriculture
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Commerce Secretary, Secretary of Commerce
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Commerce
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Defense Secretary, Secretary of Defense
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Defense Department
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Education Secretary, Secretary of Education
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Education
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Energy Secretary, Secretary of Energy
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Energy
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Secretary of Health and Human Services
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Health and Human Services
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Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Labor Secretary, Secretary of Labor
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Labor
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Secretary of State
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of State
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Interior Secretary, Secretary of the Interior
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Interior Department
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Secretary of the Treasury, Treasury Secretary
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Treasury Department
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Secretary of Transportation, Transportation Secretary
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Transportation
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Secretary of Veterans Affairs
the person who holds the secretaryship of the Department of Veterans Affairs
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Secretary General
a person who is a chief administrator (as of the United Nations)
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security director
head of a private security force working for a business or industry
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triumvir
one of a group of three sharing public administration or civil authority especially in ancient Rome
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undersecretary
a secretary immediately subordinate to the head of a department of government
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vice chancellor
a deputy or assistant to someone bearing the title of chancellor
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type of:
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leader
a person who rules or guides or inspires others
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the educator who has executive authority for a school
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synonyms:
head teacher, principal, school principal
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types:
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chancellor
the honorary or titular head of a university
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headmaster, master, schoolmaster
presiding officer of a school
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headmistress
a woman headmaster
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housemaster
teacher in charge of a school boardinghouse
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an individual person“tickets are $5 per head”
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type of:
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individual
a single organism
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individual
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a user of (usually soft) drugs“the office was full of secret heads”
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types:
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acid head
someone who takes LSD
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hash head
a user of hashish
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pill head
a consumer of amphetamine pills
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pothead
someone who smokes marijuana habitually
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type of:
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drug user, substance abuser, user
a person who takes drugs
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a single domestic animal“200 head of cattle”
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type of:
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domestic animal, domesticated animal
any of various animals that have been tamed and made fit for a human environment
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domestic animal, domesticated animal
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(usually plural) the obverse side of a coin that usually bears the representation of a person's head
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be in charge of“Who is heading this project?”
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synonyms:
lead
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types:
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chair, chairman
act or preside as chair, as of an academic department in a university
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captain
be the captain of a sports team
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spearhead
be the leader of
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take charge, take control, take hold
assume control
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move in on
seize control of
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type of:
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direct
be in charge of
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be the first or leading member of (a group) and excel
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direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
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synonyms:
channelise, channelize, direct, guide, maneuver, manoeuver, manoeuvre, point, steer
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types:
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dock
maneuver into a dock
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sheer
cause to sheer
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pull over
steer a vehicle to the side of the road
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helm
be at or take the helm of
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crab
direct (an aircraft) into a crosswind
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navigate
direct carefully and safely
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stand out
steer away from shore, of ships
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starboard
turn to the right, of helms or rudders
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conn
conduct or direct the steering of a ship or plane
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navigate, pilot
act as the navigator in a car, plane, or vessel and plan, direct, plot the path and position of the conveyance
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canalise, canalize, channel
direct the flow of
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corner, tree
force a person or an animal into a position from which he cannot escape
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park
maneuver a vehicle into a parking space
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dry-dock, drydock
maneuver (a ship) into a drydock
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astrogate
guide in interplanetary travel
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angle-park
park at an angle
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parallel-park
park directly behind another vehicle
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double-park
park a vehicle alongside another
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remove the head of
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the top of something
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the part in the front or nearest the viewer
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the front of a military formation or procession
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forward movement
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synonyms:
headway
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type of:
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advance, progress, progression
a movement forward
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advance, progress, progression
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a projection out from one end“"the head of the nail", "a pinhead is the head of a pin”
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types:
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pinhead
the head of a pin
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type of:
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projection
any structure that branches out from a central support
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pinhead
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a V-shaped mark at one end of an arrow pointer
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the striking part of a tool“the head of the hammer”
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types:
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club head, club-head, clubhead, golf-club head
(golf) the head of the club which strikes the ball
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hammerhead
the striking part of a hammer
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type of:
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striker
the part of a mechanical device that strikes something
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club head, club-head, clubhead, golf-club head
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the rounded end of a bone that fits into a rounded cavity in another bone to form a joint“the head of the humerus”
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type of:
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anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, structure
a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing
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anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, structure
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that part of a skeletal muscle that is away from the bone that it moves
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type of:
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anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, structure
a particular complex anatomical part of a living thing
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anatomical structure, bodily structure, body structure, complex body part, structure
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the tip of an abscess (where the pus accumulates)
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a natural elevation (especially a rocky one that juts out into the sea)
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synonyms:
foreland, headland, promontory
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examples:
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Cape Horn
a rocky headland belonging to Chile at the southernmost tip of South America (south of Tierra del Fuego)
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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
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Cape Hatteras
a promontory on Hatteras Island off the Atlantic coast of North Carolina
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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
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Cape Sable
a promontory on the far southern part of Nova Scotia
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Jebel Musa
a promontory in northern Morocco opposite the Rock of Gibraltar; one of the Pillars of Hercules
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types:
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mull
a term used in Scottish names of promontories
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point
a promontory extending out into a large body of water
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type of:
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elevation, eminence, natural elevation
a raised or elevated geological formation
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the source of water from which a stream arises“they tracked him back toward the head of the stream”
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synonyms:
fountainhead, headspring
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a rounded compact mass“the head of a comet”
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type of:
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object, physical object
a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow
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object, physical object
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a dense cluster of flowers or foliage“a head of cauliflower”“a head of lettuce”
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synonyms:
capitulum
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type of:
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plant organ
a functional and structural unit of a plant or fungus
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plant organ
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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”
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types:
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crosshead, crossheading
a heading of a subsection printed within the body of the text
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headline, newspaper headline
the heading or caption of a newspaper article
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lemma
the heading that indicates the subject of an annotation or a literary composition or a dictionary entry
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rubric
a title or heading that is printed in red or in a special type
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running head, running headline
a heading printed at the top of every page (or every other page) of a book
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subhead, subheading
a heading of a subdivision of a text
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rubric, statute title, title
a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with
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running title
the title (or a shortened title) of a book used as a running head
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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
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screamer
a sensational newspaper headline
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banner, streamer
a newspaper headline that runs across the full page
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title
a general or descriptive heading for a section of a written work
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type of:
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line
text consisting of a row of words written across a page or computer screen
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the subject matter at issue“under the head of minor Roman poets”
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synonyms:
question
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types:
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problem
a question raised for consideration or solution
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matter of fact, question of fact
a disputed factual contention that is generally left for a jury to decide
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matter of law, question of law
a disputed legal contention that is generally left for a judge to decide
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mystifier, puzzle, puzzler, teaser
a particularly baffling problem that is said to have a correct solution
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case
a problem requiring investigation
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homework problem
a problem that students are assigned to do outside of class
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brain-teaser, conundrum, enigma, riddle
a difficult problem
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poser, sticker, stumper, toughie
a particularly difficult or baffling question or problem
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Gordian knot
any very difficult problem; insoluble in its own terms
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koan
a paradoxical anecdote or a riddle that has no solution; used in Zen Buddhism to show the inadequacy of logical reasoning
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pons asinorum
a problem that severely tests the ability of an inexperienced person
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rebus
a puzzle where you decode a message consisting of pictures representing syllables and words
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the foam or froth that accumulates at the top when you pour an effervescent liquid into a container
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the pressure exerted by a fluid“a head of steam”
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type of:
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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)
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force per unit area, pressure, pressure level
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(computer science) a tiny electromagnetic coil and metal pole used to write and read magnetic patterns on a disk
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synonyms:
read/write head
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type of:
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coil
reactor consisting of a spiral of insulated wire that introduces inductance into a circuit
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coil
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a membrane that is stretched taut over a drum
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a difficult juncture
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be in the front of or on top of
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travel in front of; go in advance of others
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to go or travel towards“where is she heading”“We were headed for the mountains”
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type of:
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continue, go forward, proceed
move ahead; travel onward in time or space
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continue, go forward, proceed
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form a head or come or grow to a head“The wheat headed early this year”
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type of:
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form
assume a form or shape
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form
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take its rise
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oral stimulation of the genitals
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type of:
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perversion, sexual perversion
an aberrant sexual practice;
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perversion, sexual perversion
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(nautical) a toilet on board a boat or ship
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(grammar) the word in a grammatical constituent that plays the same grammatical role as the whole constituent
Pronunciation
US
/hɛd/
UK
/hɛd/
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘head'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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