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Glite Dictionary
head of state

head of state

49 3.5
A country's main public leader, like a president or king
  • noun
  • Formal
: jefe de Estado
  • On September 8, 2000, the world's heads of state adopted the United Nations Millennium Declaration.
  • heads of state and government
  • heads of state and ministers
  • foreign heads of state

Would I write a poem and deliver it to the heads of state of the world?

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Examples

  • More than 100 heads of state attended UNCED, while only 2 went to Stockholm.

    Academic text (1992)

  • I'm going to urge the heads of state of all countries to cooperate in this endeavor.

    Queen of Blood (1966)

  • For the next three months he will be the head of state

    The Palace (2023)

  • This is the first time each head of state will be meeting together at the White House.

    Check Point (2017)

  • But he got to talk to the head of state of Brazil.

    FLAGRANT

  • Would I write a poem and deliver it to the heads of state of the world?

    Evan Carmichael

  • Could the heads of state just apologize and get back to normal?

    The Great War

  • The Queen has more power in her tiny white gloves than any other head of state in the entire world.

    Johnny English (2003)

  • She is the first woman head of state in Brazil.

  • This is the first time each head of state will be meeting together at the White House.

Synonyms

king
vshead of state
∞ 1.0

A man who rules a country and usually gets the job from his family

is a public representative term that applies regardless of gender or title
president
vshead of state
  • Formal
∞ 2.0

An elected leader of a country who runs the national government

can be a ceremonial public representative without election or executive power
ruler
vshead of state
163 2.1

A person who has power over a country or its people

is specifically the country's public representative rather than any authority figure
monarch
vshead of state
49 5.1

A king or queen who rules a country and usually gets the job by birth

can be a public representative regardless of how chosen
sovereign
vshead of state
35 7.2

A king or queen who rules a country and gets the position from their family

can be a public representative chosen by different systems, not only heredity
governor general
vshead of state
  • Australian
5 6.5

A person who represents the country's king or queen and does official jobs like signing laws

is the country's main public representative rather than a delegated deputy
chief of state
vshead of state
2 5.4

The main public representative of a country who may also lead the government

is the same public representative but can also act as chief executive
crowned head
vshead of state
  • Literature
1 7.8

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

is the general public representative role beyond ceremonial throne holders

How Powerful

dictator
197 4.2
head of state
  • Formal
49 3.5
prime minister
345 2.3
local authority
  • UK
62 3.4

Surface Forms

head of state singular
heads of state plural

Morphology

head + of + state

The meaning 'chief public representative of a country' is directly compositional from 'head' (leader) + 'of' (association) + 'state' (nation). This is a common, literal nominal construction found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Head of state comes from the simple image of a country's leader at the top, like a head on a body. Here 'state' means the country, so the phrase refers to the main public representative or leader of the country today.