head

A1 Topic:The Human Body

Also spelled ead and heead

US /hɛd/ UK /hɛd/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like had /ɛ/ vs /æ/

Freq #282

Meanings

1

noun
The part of the body above the neck, containing the brain, eyes, and mouth.

She turned her head to see who was calling.
2

noun
The person who leads or is in charge of something.

She is the head of the marketing department.
3

noun
The top or front part of something.

He waited for me at the head of the stairs.
4

noun
The layer of foam on top of a poured drink such as beer.

The beer was served with a thick head of foam.
5

verb
to move in a particular direction

We should head towards the shelter before dark.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Multiword verbs with head

head off Phrasal verb A1

to prevent a problem or unwanted event from happening

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · the person who leads or is... chief

More beanbeanerbelfry block boncebrainboxdome loaf lolly nappernoddlenoggin

Word family

Forms cephalicheadedheadlikeheadmostheads

Derived forms acidheadaddlehead aheadair-headairheadangels-dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pinappleheadarrow-head arrowheadarseheadassheadaxhead

Related forms ahead countenanceknuckleheadrailheadsmackhead

Appears in

Phrases (7)

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shake your head
to move your head from side to side, typically indicating disagreement or disbelief

Verb + noun
shaved head
a head with the hair cut very short or completely removed

Adjective + noun
nod your head
to move your head up and down, typically indicating agreement

Verb + noun
a head office
the main administrative centre of a company or organisation

Adjective + noun
bow your head
to lower your head as a sign of respect, prayer, or sorrow

Verb + noun
head gasket
a seal fitted between an engine's cylinder head and block

Noun + noun

Idioms (11)

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Proverbs (8)

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Simplified etymology

Head comes from Old English hēafod, with related forms including Dutch hoofd and German Haupt.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput- Proto-Germanic *haubudą Old English hēafod Middle English heed English head From Middle English hed heed, from Old English hēafd-, hēafod (“head, top, chief”), from Proto-West Germanic *haubud, from Proto-Germanic *haubudą (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *káput. The modern word comes from Old English oblique stem hēafd-; the expected Modern English outcome for hēafod would be *heaved (similar to the Middle English word). Doublet of cape, capo, caput, chef, chief, and Howth. Cognate with Old English hafela (“head”), Scots h…

hed Middle English hēafod Old English *haubud Proto-West Germanic *haubudą Proto-Germanic *káput Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

The Human Body

External links

# head

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /hɛd/
**IPA (UK):** /hɛd/
**Frequency rank:** 282

## Meanings
1. The part of the body above the neck, containing the brain, eyes, and mouth.
2. The person who leads or is in charge of something.
3. The top or front part of something.
4. The layer of foam on top of a poured drink such as beer.
5. to move in a particular direction

## Examples
- She turned her head to see who was calling.
- She is the head of the marketing department.
- He waited for me at the head of the stairs.
- The beer was served with a thick head of foam.
- We should head towards the shelter before dark.

## Synonyms
- bean
- beaner
- belfry
- block
- bonce
- brainbox
- dome
- loaf
- lolly
- napper
- noddle
- noggin

## Derived Forms
- acidhead
- addlehead
- ahead
- air-head
- airhead
- angels-dancing-on-the-head-of-a-pin
- applehead
- arrow-head
- arrowhead
- arsehead
- asshead
- axhead

## Related Forms
- ahead
- countenance
- knucklehead
- railhead
- smackhead

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: hed
- Root: hēafod
- Root: *haubud
- Root: *haubudą
- Root: *káput

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *káput- Proto-Germanic *haubudą Old English hēafod Middle English heed English head From Middle English hed heed, from Old English hēafd-, hēafod (“head, top, chief”), from Proto-West Germanic *haubud, from Proto-Germanic *haubudą (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *káput. The modern word comes from Old English oblique stem hēafd-; the expected Modern English outcome for hēafod would be *heaved (similar to the Middle English word). Doublet of cape, capo, caput, chef, chief, and Howth. Cognate with Old English hafela (“head”), Scots h…

## AI Etymology
Head comes from Middle English hed heed, from Old English hēafd-, hēafod (“head, top, chief”), from Proto-West Germanic *haubud, from Proto-Germanic *haubudą (“head”), from Proto-Indo-European *káput. The modern word comes from Old English oblique stem hēafd-; the expected Modern English outcome for hēafod would be *heaved (similar to the Middle English word). Doublet of cape, capo, caput, chef, chief, and Howth. The historical chain runs through Proto-Indo-European *kap-, Proto-Indo-European *káput-, Proto-Germanic *haubudą, Old English hēafod, Middle English heed, and English head. In current use, the main senses are “The part of the body above the neck, containing the brain, eyes, and mouth” and “The person who leads or is in charge of something”.

## Topics
- The Human Body

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head

Meanings

Verb forms

Multiword verbs with head

Thesaurus

Appears in

Phrases (7)

Idioms (11)

Proverbs (8)

Simplified etymology

Etymology

Topics

External links

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