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to head

to head

465 2.9
To be in charge of a group or organization
  • verb
  • /hɛd/
translation icon : dirigir
  • Now don't forget, I'm counting on you to head up my media campaign.
  • head a team
  • head a committee
  • head a department

Keith, head us for that Tripod theme song.

Examples

  • So yes, I will head off now and see you guys when I get back.

  • All right, so it's time to head to the boat crew.

  • All right, we're gonna head this way.

  • I'm just trying to head off possible problems for you.

  • We head down to San Diego, right?

  • So let's head on over there and see what's going on.

  • I was on track to head up the Olympic squad.

  • Trivelpiece left the department in 1987 and now heads Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Another project underway to collect internal exposome data is headed up by Avrum Spira, a pulmonologist at Boston.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The manager will head the team for the new project starting next month.

Synonyms

to lead
vsto head
1.0

To guide a group or be in charge

focuses more on formal control and an ahead position rather than only guiding
to head up
vsto head
59 3.9

To lead a group or team

also implies standing ahead and managing
to front
vsto head
24 4.8

To act as the public leader of a group or activity

adds the idea of formal command and being physically ahead
to take the helm
vsto head
12 4.4

To lead an organization, group, or project

describes holding ongoing command and an ahead position rather than only taking over

Antonyms

1.0

To come after something in time or order

Idioms

Avoid getting noticed to stay out of trouble

33 3.2

A place to live, like a house or flat that keeps you dry and safe

Completely covering the whole body from head to feet

head over heels
  • Informal
17 3.4

Completely in love with someone

Make people see something in a very different way

Showing pride and confidence when facing difficulty

8 4.7

To avoid serious money problems during hard times

To force someone to do something by threatening them

To calm your mind and think clearly

6 4.3

Being much better than others at something

To become too proud after praise or success

To ignore a problem instead of dealing with it

A person who thinks carefully and makes sensible choices

5 9.1

Showing poor judgment or not thinking clearly

4 4.4

Act proudly and confidently, not ashamed

Touch or rub your head to show you do not understand something

4 7.0

To leave someone feeling overwhelmed or confused by too much information

4 7.8

To run away quickly to escape danger

To stay focused and calm in a difficult situation

3 5.1

To make loud, long sounds because something is very funny

3 6.5

Make a very loud, long cry because you feel afraid, excited, or upset

Stay calm and not get angry or excited in a difficult situation

3 7.4

To cause someone to feel confused or overwhelmed by too much information

An ability to understand and do well in business

3 8.1

Too difficult for someone to understand

fucked in the head
  • Offensive
2 9.9

Very unwell in the mind and likely to act strangely

2 6.9

A person who has good judgment and common sense

head up one's ass
  • Offensive
2 9.9

To be unaware of what is happening around you

1 7.2

To daydream and not pay attention to what is around you

Offer money for catching or killing a person

1 8.5

Shout at someone in a very angry way and threaten them

To make someone understand or accept something after many tries

To hurt someone in any way, even a little

To stay very alert and watch what is happening around you

To try many times to do something without success and feel frustrated

head over heels
  • Informal
1 4.2

In a hurry and moving clumsily without control

1 3.5

To make loud sounds you cannot stop because something is very funny

1 6.4

To become very upset and unable to think clearly

Able to think and act in a sensible, practical way

1 9.1

To be very angry with someone and want to punish them

A sum of money offered to catch or kill a person wanted by the police

Be quieter and more careful about what you say

A place to live or stay

Being responsible for another person's harm or death

To speak angrily to someone and criticize them

Not helpful and not wanted in any situation

To notice things happening behind you without turning around

To find a place to sleep or rest

To stay constantly in someone's thoughts and annoy them

To move forward despite strong opposition or many difficulties

To finally understand or accept something difficult

To do something very foolish and not needed

Phrasal Verbs

618 1.8

Go toward a place or destination

Move your head from side to side to show you do not agree

167 2.5

To leave a place to start a trip

111 1.5

Go back to your home after being somewhere else

59 3.9

To lead a group or team

23 4.8

Stop something from happening by acting early

9 7.7

To become too proud because of praise, success, or power

Deal with a problem directly instead of avoiding it

Put your thoughts and feelings in order after a time of confusion

to give head
  • Offensive
3 9.9

To use your mouth to make a man's penis feel good

To keep reminding someone of a past mistake to control them

A song or tune that you keep thinking about and cannot forget

To stop thinking about upsetting or confusing thoughts to feel calmer

1 7.5

To ask a higher boss for permission without telling your boss

To hit a ball with your head, usually in football or soccer

1 7.1

Completely change what people think about something

Make people notice you because they admire or are surprised by you

To make someone feel very annoyed or upset

Someone does not understand an idea because it is too hard for them

1 7.2

To organize your thoughts and feelings after feeling confused or upset

1 8.1

To be too hard for someone to understand

8.1

To accidentally hit your head against something

To face a problem directly and try to solve it

To move forward despite strong opposition or difficulty

Keep someone worried about something bad that might happen

To threaten someone with a past mistake to control them

To put your head forward through an opening to look

Say things that are too hard for someone to understand

To face a difficult problem directly and work hard to solve it

to smash the head
  • Offensive
8.8

Hit a person's head very hard and cause serious injury

Compounds

82 2.5

An advantage from starting earlier than others that helps you succeed

head of state
  • Formal
49 3.5

A country's main public leader, like a president or king

42 3.9

The front of one vehicle hits the front of another in a crash

36 3.8

To face something directly without avoiding it

31 3.7

In direct competition with another person or team

talking head
  • Literature
21 6.0

A person on TV or video who speaks directly to viewers and gives opinions

20 2.0

All the hair that grows on the top of a person's head

A person who leads a department in a company or school

17 3.4

The number of people present in a group or at an event

13 3.9

A direct contest or comparison between two sides

9 3.0

A senior nurse in charge of staff on a hospital ward

head honcho
  • Slang
9 6.3

A person who is in charge of a company or group

8 4.1

Staying calm and not getting upset in difficult or stressful situations

7 1.0

The upper part of the body that holds the brain and face

6 2.5

Small insects that live in hair and make the head itchy

little head
  • Offensive
5 9.9

A man's sexual feelings or other emotions that make him act without thinking

5 1.8

A mild viral sickness that makes your nose stuffy, causes sneezing, and may give you a headache

head gasket
  • Specialized
4 5.6

A thin part that sits between the engine block and cylinder head to stop oil, coolant, and gas from leaking

head of steam
  • Informal
4 7.0

A sudden burst of energy and excitement before doing something

head-scratcher
  • Informal
4 7.7

A problem that is hard to understand or solve

head shop
  • NSFW
3 8.2

A shop that sells pipes and rolling papers for smoking drugs

3 4.2

A private meeting between two people

A person who is in charge of managing a home and family

head-spinning
  • Informal
3 6.8

Causes strong confusion and makes you feel overwhelmed

head game
  • Informal
2 8.6

A trick to confuse or upset someone

head-scratching
  • Informal
2 7.5

Hard to understand and making people feel confused

Cloth or hat that people wear on the head, sometimes over the face

head-turner
  • Informal
2 5.6

A person or thing that looks very attractive and makes people turn to look

swelled head
  • Offensive
2 7.4

Thinking you are more important or better than other people

crowned head
  • Literature
1 7.8

A king or queen who rules because they get the position from their family

cylinder head
  • Specialized
1 6.4

Metal cover that closes the top of an engine cylinder and holds valves and spark plugs

1 6.3

A carved, hollowed pumpkin made to look like a head or a person whose head looks like a pumpkin

1 3.2

A person who leads a school and is responsible for its teachers and students

flower head
  • Specialized
1 3.0

A tight group of small flowers that look like one flower

head trip
  • Informal
1 8.7

An intense mental experience that makes you think deeply or feel strong emotions

head voice
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A high singing sound that feels like it vibrates in the head

1 9.3

A doctor who treats mental health problems

1 9.9

A rare North American orchid with a brownish-green flower and a red-and-white lip shaped like a small horned animal's head

coconut head
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who acts foolishly and lacks common sense

1 3.5

The part of a golf club that strikes the ball

1 9.1

An image or object of a human skull used as a symbol of death

acid head
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who regularly takes LSD

ax head
  • US
1 4.1

A metal blade at the end of an ax used for chopping wood

magnetic head
  • Specialized
1 6.0

A small part in a tape or disk player that reads and writes sound and data using a magnet

1 1.6

The part at the end of a mop that soaks up water for cleaning floors

granola-head
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who cares a lot about healthy food and the environment

1 1.4

A round vegetable with a large firm head of leaves used for cooking

head restraint
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A padded support on top of a car seat that holds the head and reduces neck injury in a crash

1 8.1

A person who loves computers and new electronic gadgets

1 3.6

A person who leads a team working on a particular task

pudding head
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who is not very smart

pill head
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who often takes illegal pills to get high

potato head
  • Offensive
1 8.4

A person who behaves in a foolish or silly way

spud head
  • Offensive
1 9.8

An insulting name for a person who is foolish or lazy

stupid-head
  • Offensive
1 9.1

A playful insult for a person who acts silly

bum head
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who behaves in a silly or careless way

6.0

The part at the end of a golf club that hits the ball

9.9

A mushroom with a ridged, pitted cap attached halfway down the stem

A large moth with a skull-shaped dark mark on its back

doodie head
  • Offensive
9.9

A playful name children use for someone acting silly

9.9

A North American herb with long narrow toothed leaves and purple flower spikes

addle-head
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who often thinks in a confused or silly way

balloon head
  • Informal
8.9

A feeling that your head is swollen and full with pressure and discomfort

A North American plant in the mint family with two-lipped pink or white flowers in a spike

little-head snakeweed
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant like snakeweed with small flower heads that have fewer petals and fewer small flowers in the center

long-head coneflower
  • Specialized
8.4

A wildflower with a long cone and yellow petals that grows in western North America

medusa's head
  • South African
9.9

A small African succulent plant with many thin hanging branches like snakes

9.9

A wild grass with long, stiff bristles that look like snake hair

The part of a golf club that hits the ball

hash head
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who often smokes hash, a kind of illegal drug

head crash
  • Specialized
8.6

An accident when the small moving part that reads a hard drive touches the disk and destroys data

head gate
  • Specialized
7.4

A movable barrier at the start of a canal that controls water flow

head blight
  • Specialized
8.9

A disease from a fungus that attacks wheat or barley heads and reduces the crop

How Senior

to manage
643 2.7
to head
465 2.9
to lead
1.0

Surface Forms

head infinitive
headed past
headed past participle
heading present participle
heads third person singular

Etymology

To head a group as a verb comes from the noun head meaning 'top' or 'leader', so to head something is to be in charge or stand at the front.