1. 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";
   - caput [technical], bean [informal], bonce [Brit, informal], noodle [informal], noggin [informal], dome [informal], nob [informal], napper [Brit, informal], skull [informal], nut [informal], melon [informal]
    
2. That which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions; the seat of the faculty of reason
   "I couldn't get his words out of my head";
   - mind, brain, loaf [Brit, informal]
    
3. A person who is in charge
   "the head of the whole operation";
   - chief, top dog [informal]
    
4. A single domestic animal
   "200 head of cattle"
    
5. (military) the front of a military formation or procession
   "the head of the column advanced boldly"; "they were at the head of the attack"
    
6. The educator who has executive authority for a school
   "she sent unruly pupils to see the head teacher";
   - principal, school principal, head teacher [Brit]
    
7. The top of something
   "the head of the list"; "the head of the stairs"; "the head of the page"
    
8. The part in the front or nearest the viewer
   "he was at the head of the column";
   - forefront
    
9. The pressure exerted by a fluid
   "a head of steam"
    
10. The source of water from which a stream arises
    "they tracked him back toward the head of the stream";
    - fountainhead, headspring
     
11. (grammar) the word in a grammatical constituent that plays the same grammatical role as the whole constituent
    "In the phrase 'red car', 'car' is the head";
    - head word
     
12. A rounded compact mass
    "the head of a comet"
     
13. 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"
     
14. A dense cluster of flowers or foliage
    "a head of lettuce";
    - capitulum
     
15. A natural elevation (especially a rocky one that juts out into the sea)
    "The lighthouse stood on a high head overlooking the ocean";
    - promontory, headland, foreland
     
16. An individual person
    "tickets are $5 per head"
     
17. A user of (usually soft) drugs
    "the office was full of secret heads"
     
18. A difficult juncture
    "matters came to a head yesterday";
    - pass, straits
     
19. Forward movement
    "the ship made little head against the gale";
    - headway
     
20. A V-shaped mark at one end of an arrow pointer
    "the head of the arrow was due north";
    - point
     
21. The subject matter at issue
    "under the head of minor Roman poets";
    - question
     
22. A line of text serving to indicate what the passage below it is about
    "The newspaper article's head summarized the main story";
    - heading, header
     
23. The rounded end of a bone that fits into a rounded cavity in another bone to form a joint
    "the head of the humerus"
     
24. That part of a skeletal muscle that is away from the bone that it moves
    "The head of the biceps muscle attaches to the shoulder blade"
     
25. (computing) a tiny electromagnetic coil and metal pole used to write and read magnetic patterns on a disk
    "The hard drive's read/write head moved across the disk surface, accessing data";
    - read/write head
     
26. (usually plural) the obverse side of a coin that usually bears the representation of a person's head
    "call heads or tails!"
     
27. The striking part of a tool
    "the head of the hammer"
     
28. (nautical) a toilet on board a boat or ship
    "The sailor directed the passenger to the head"
     
29. A projection out from one end
    "the head of the nail"; "a pinhead is the head of a pin"
     
30. A membrane that is stretched taut over a drum
    "He tightened the head to achieve the desired sound";
    - drumhead
     
31. [vulgar] Oral stimulation of the genitals
    "they say he gives good head";
    - oral sex
     
32. A headlike protuberance on an organ or structure
    "the caput humeri is the head of the humerus which fits into a cavity in the scapula";
    - caput [technical]
     
33. The tip of an abscess (where the pus accumulates)
    "The doctor lanced the head of the boil to drain the pus"
     
34. 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"

1. Be in charge of
   "Who is heading this project?";
   - lead
    
2. To go or travel towards
   "where is she heading?"; "We were headed for the mountains"
    
3. Travel in front of; go in advance of others
   "The procession was headed by John";
   - lead
    
4. Be the first or leading member of (a group) and excel
   "This student heads the class";
   - head up
    
5. Control or determine the movement, direction, or course of something
   "The captain headed the ship through the strait";
   - steer, maneuver [US], manoeuvre [Brit, Cdn], direct, point, guide, channelize, channelise [Brit]
    
6. Take its rise
   "These rivers head from a mountain range in the Himalayas"
    
7. Be in the front of or on top of
   "The list was headed by the name of the president"
    
8. Form a head, come or grow to a head
   "The wheat headed early this year"
    
9. Remove the head of
   "head the fish"

Derived forms: heads, headed, heading

Type of: advance, anatomical structure, arise, article, bathroom, beginning, bodily structure, body structure, bog [Brit, informal], bulge, bump, can [N. Amer, informal], closet [archaic], cognition, coil, command, complex body part, continue, control, develop, direct, domestic animal, domesticated animal, drug user, educator, elevation, excrescence, external body part, extrusion, foam, force per unit area, forepart, form, formation, front, front end, froth, gibbosity, gibbousness, go forward, grow, human head, hump, individual, jacks [Ireland, informal], john [informal], juncture, jut, lav [informal], lavatory, lead, leader, lie, line, linear measure, linear unit, loo [Brit, informal], mark, membrane, move ahead, natural elevation, noesis [technical], object, obverse, occasion, origin, originate, peak, pedagog [US], pedagogue, perversion, physical object, plant organ, point, precede, pressure, pressure level, proceed, progress, progression, projection, prominence, protrusion, protuberance, remove, rise, root, rootage, sexual perversion, source, spring up, striker, structure, subject, substance abuser, swelling, take, take away, theme, tip, toilet, top, topic, uprise [archaic, literary], user, W.C. [Brit], water closet [Brit, archaic], withdraw, word

Antonym: foot, rear, tail

Part of: abscess, animal, animate being, arrow, body, bolt, coin, drum, hammer, membranophone, nail, organic structure, pin, pointer, ram, screw, skeletal muscle, striated muscle, tympan

Encyclopedia: Head, Patrick