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Glite Dictionary
headfirst

headfirst

19 3.3
In a way that moves with your face going in front or that shows you act quickly without thinking
  • adverb
  • /ˈhɛdˌfɜrst/
translation icon : de cabeza
  • You dove headfirst through a plate glass window?

Examples

  • Janene Mascarella, of Long Island, N.Y., jumped headfirst into full-time freelancing just four years ago.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Ten-year-old Annabel Beam from Burleson, Texas fell 30 feet headfirst down a tree.

    Miracles from Heaven (2016)

  • Take it on headfirst with the skills that I will teach you at work... ...and say, "No.

    Magnolia (1999)

  • I also remember you hanging me headfirst down a well.

    Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009)

  • But he always came back, always came crashing headfirst to the here and now.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Come along with me as I interview the suspects and dive in headfirst.

    Killer Whales (2022)

  • In his haste to cross, Robinson fell headfirst onto the ice almost immediately.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • You wanted to dive headfirst into everything that Elysium represented, we did that.

    Wanderlust (2012)

  • WHALE'S HOUSE - POOL - DAY: Clay leaps headfirst into the water.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • On Thursday, grown men were taking running starts and sliding headfirst into the mud.

Synonyms

headlong
vsheadfirst
2 5.1

With the top of the body moving first, often when falling or diving

is done with the head leading but can be slower or figurative
feet first
vsheadfirst
  • Informal
1 5.3

Entering a new situation eagerly and without hesitation

focuses on physical head leading or quick movement rather than enthusiastic approach

Antonyms

feetfirst
5.6

In a way that you move or fall with your feet first

How Reckless

headfirst
19 3.3
recklessly
30 4.6
rashly
7 5.6
impetuously
1 7.7

Surface Forms

headfirst positive

Morphology

headfirst = head + first (transparent) = head + first

The meaning is directly derived from the combination of 'head' and 'first', indicating the head leading in movement.

Etymology

Headfirst comes from putting together head and first, literally meaning 'the head goes first'. So, headfirst gives the clear image of moving or diving with your head leading and now means doing something quickly, often without careful thought.