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Synonyms of head in English:


  • 1 she was hurt when her head hit the ground
    skull, cranium, crown
    informal nut, noodle, noddle, nob, noggin, dome
    British informal bonce, napper
    Scottish & Northern English informal poll
    informal, , dated bean, conk
    archaic pate, Costard, crumpet
  • 2 this new job meant he had to use his head
    brain, brains, brainpower, intellect, intelligence, intellectual capacity, mental capacity, powers of reasoning;
    wit, wits, wisdom, mind, sense, reasoning, rationality, mentality, understanding, common sense
    informal nous, grey matter, savvy, brainbox, brain cells, upper storey
    British informal loaf
    North American informal smarts
    South African informal kop
  • 3 she had a good head for business
    mind, brain
  • 4 the head of the Dutch Catholic Church
    leader, chief, boss, controller, master, supervisor, governor, superintendent, foreman, forewoman, headman;
    commander, commanding officer, captain;
    director, managing director, chief executive, manager;
    president, premier, prime minister, ruler;
    chair, chairman, chairwoman, chairperson;
    North American  chief executive officer, CEO
    informal boss man, kingpin, top dog, big cheese, bigwig, Mr Big, skipper
    British informal gaffer, guv'nor
    North American informal numero uno, head honcho, padrone, sachem, big white chief, big kahuna, big wheel, high muckamuck
    [Antonyms] subordinate
  • 5 at the head of the queue
    front, beginning, start, fore, forefront, top, leading position, foremost position
    [Antonyms] back, bottom
  • 6 the head of the River Thames
    [Antonyms] mouth
  • 7 beer with a creamy head
    froth, foam, bubbles, spume, mousse, fizz, effervescence, lather, suds
  • 8 Nautical they were cleaning out the heads See toilet
  • Phrases

    at the head of
    his years at the head of the company
    in charge of, in control of, in command of, at the top of, at the helm of, at the controls of, as leader of, in the driving seat of, at the wheel of, responsible for, accountable for, liable for;
    be head and shoulders above
    he was always head and shoulders above the rest but he was very modest
    outclass, surpass, be superior to, be better than, outshine, overshadow, eclipse, dwarf, put in the shade, upstage, transcend;
    top, cap, trump, trounce, beat, defeat, better, put to shame, exceed, leave behind, outrank
    informal be a cut above, run rings round, leave standing, walk away from
    archaic outrival, outvie
    come to a head
    the violence came to a head with the deaths of six youths
    reach a crisis, come to a climax, reach a critical point, reach a turning point, reach a crossroads
    informal come to the crunch
    go to someone's head
  • 1 the wine has gone to my head
    intoxicate, inebriate, befuddle, make someone intoxicated, make someone drunk, make someone dizzy, make someone's head spin
    informal make someone woozy
  • 2 her victory went to her head
    make someone conceited, make someone arrogant, turn someone's head, make someone full of themselves, puff someone up
  • keep one's head
    he takes chances but keeps his head
    [Antonyms] lose control of oneself
    keep/stay calm, keep/stay cool, remain unruffled, keep control of oneself, keep one's self-control, maintain one's equilibrium, maintain one's composure
    informal keep one's cool, keep one's shirt on
    lose one's head
    I lost my head and started a big fuss
    [Antonyms] keep control of oneself
    lose control of oneself, lose one's composure, lose one's self-control, lose one's equilibrium, lose control of the situation, go to pieces, fall to pieces;
    panic, go mad, get flustered, get confused, get angry, get excited, get hysterical
    British informal go into a (flat) spin, throw a wobbly


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  • the head waiter
    North American  ranking
    informal top-notch
    [Antonyms] subordinate
  • verb

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  • 1 the St George's Day procession was headed by the mayor
    be at the front of, lead, be the leader of, be at the head of;
    be first, go first, lead the way
    [Antonyms] be at the back of, bring up the rear of
  • 2 an organizational unit headed by a line manager he will head up the new communications division
    be in charge of, be at the head of, be in command of, command, be in control of, control, lead, be the leader of, run, manage, direct, administer, supervise, superintend, oversee, preside over, rule, govern, captain, be the boss of, be at the helm of
    [Antonyms] be subordinate
  • 3 he was heading for the exit
    move towards, go towards, make for, aim for, make one's way towards, go in the direction of, direct one's steps towards, be bound for, steer for, make a beeline for;
    set out in the direction of, set out for, start out for
    [Antonyms] move away from
  • Phrases

    head someone/something off
  • 1 he ran up the road to head off approaching cars
    intercept, divert, deflect, redirect, reroute, turn aside, draw away, turn away, cut off
  • 2 they headed off a row by ordering further study of both plans
    prevent, avoid, stop, check, thwart
    [Antonyms] precipitate
  • head something up

    Word links

    cephalo- related prefix, as in cephalopod
    cephalometry measurement of the head
    Definition of head in:
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