to head
- verb
- /hɛd/
- To prepare the dish, you need to head the fish before cooking it.
Examples
-
Pick up a shrimp and I want to see you head it.
-
Maine biologist NAB and Owl taking the heads off of chickens.
-
Sharks were dressed by heading, eviscerating, and removing fins as they came aboard or at the end of the haul.
Academic text (1997) -
He carefully headed the crabs he caught in the bay.
-
If you're making shrimp cocktails, first you must head the shrimp.
Synonyms
Cut off the head of a person or animal
Cut off the head of a person or animal to kill them
Idioms
- Informal
A place to live, like a house or flat that keeps you dry and safe
- Informal
A person who thinks carefully and makes sensible choices
- Informal
To leave someone feeling overwhelmed or confused by too much information
- Informal
Make a very loud, long cry because you feel afraid, excited, or upset
- Informal
To cause someone to feel confused or overwhelmed by too much information
- Informal
To make someone understand or accept something after many tries
- Informal
To stay very alert and watch what is happening around you
To try many times to do something without success and feel frustrated
- Informal
To make loud sounds you cannot stop because something is very funny
A sum of money offered to catch or kill a person wanted by the police
- Informal
To notice things happening behind you without turning around
To stay constantly in someone's thoughts and annoy them
To move forward despite strong opposition or many difficulties
Phrasal Verbs
- Informal
Put your thoughts and feelings in order after a time of confusion
- Informal
To ask a higher boss for permission without telling your boss
- Informal
Someone does not understand an idea because it is too hard for them
- Informal
To organize your thoughts and feelings after feeling confused or upset
- Informal
To face a difficult problem directly and work hard to solve it
Compounds
- Literature
A person on TV or video who speaks directly to viewers and gives opinions
- Offensive
A man's sexual feelings or other emotions that make him act without thinking
A mild viral sickness that makes your nose stuffy, causes sneezing, and may give you a headache
- Specialized
A thin part that sits between the engine block and cylinder head to stop oil, coolant, and gas from leaking
- Informal
A person or thing that looks very attractive and makes people turn to look
- Literature
A king or queen who rules because they get the position from their family
- Specialized
Metal cover that closes the top of an engine cylinder and holds valves and spark plugs
A carved, hollowed pumpkin made to look like a head or a person whose head looks like a pumpkin
- Informal
An intense mental experience that makes you think deeply or feel strong emotions
- US
A rare North American orchid with a brownish-green flower and a red-and-white lip shaped like a small horned animal's head
- Specialized
A small part in a tape or disk player that reads and writes sound and data using a magnet
- Specialized
A padded support on top of a car seat that holds the head and reduces neck injury in a crash
A North American plant in the mint family with two-lipped pink or white flowers in a spike
- Specialized
A plant like snakeweed with small flower heads that have fewer petals and fewer small flowers in the center
- Specialized
A wildflower with a long cone and yellow petals that grows in western North America
- South African
A small African succulent plant with many thin hanging branches like snakes
- Specialized
An accident when the small moving part that reads a hard drive touches the disk and destroys data
- Specialized
A disease from a fungus that attacks wheat or barley heads and reduces the crop
Surface Forms
Etymology
To head a fish or shrimp means to remove its head, a direct use of the ordinary word head for the top part of an animal, so the verb names the action on that part.