head — OET · Shobdo

head

noun

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;

British, informal loaf, upper storey;

North American, informal smarts;

South African, informal kop.

3 she had a good head for business:

aptitude, faculty, flair, talent, gift, capacity, ability, knack, bent;

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;

principal, head teacher, headmaster, headmistress;

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:

source, origin, well head, headspring, headwater, headwaters;

South African eye;

literary wellspring, fount, fountain.

▷antonyms mouth.

7 beer with a creamy head:

froth, foam, bubbles, spume, mousse, fizz, effervescence, lather, suds.

□ 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;

managing, running, administering, directing, supervising, overseeing, controlling, commanding, leading, heading up, looking after, taking care of.

□ be head and shoulders aboveinformal

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:

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.

▷antonyms lose control of oneself.

□ lose one's head

I lost my head and started a big fuss:

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;

informal lose one's cool, freak out, crack up;

British, informal go into a (flat) spin, throw a wobbly.

▷antonyms keep control of oneself.

adjective

the head waiter:

chief, principal, leading, main, first, front, prime, premier, foremost, top, topmost, highest, supreme, pre-eminent, high-ranking, top-ranking, most important;

North American ranking;

informal top-notch.

▷antonyms subordinate.

verb

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:

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.

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.

□ head someone or 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:

forestall, avert, ward off, fend off, stave off, hold off, nip in the bud, keep at bay;

prevent, avoid, stop, check, thwart.

▷antonyms precipitate.

□ head something up

he will head up the new communications division:

be in charge of, be at the head of, head, 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.

word links	head
cephalo- related prefix, as in cephalopod cephalometry measurement of the head

head Oxford Dictionary of English