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Glite Dictionary
🕵️ To recruit directly 🕵️ A talent search 🗡️ To take heads
to headhunt

to headhunt

2 5.8
To look for and hire a skilled person for a senior job
  • verb
  • /ˈhɛdˌhʌnt/
translation icon : reclutar
  • Many organizations use recruitment agencies to headhunt the best talent in their industry.

Examples

  • Did they headhunt you?

    Deception (2008)

  • I heard she was headhunted.

    Candy 2 (2022)

  • A week later, I was headhunted for a different position elsewhere at more than twice the pay and better benefits.

    Blog text (31)

  • I'm being headhunted by art college LA.

    Daughters of Wisdom (2007)

  • Our goal should be to get candidates/top talent to apply to us, rather than needing to headhunt.

    Blog text (26)

  • Another gallery headhunted me.

    The Girl on the Train (2016)

  • We were headhunted.

    Exam (2009)

  • If you're a LinkedIn expert, you will be a credible appointment—you could be headhunted—and your managers won't want you to leave.

    Blog text (2)

  • The tech company actively headhunt senior engineers to fill crucial roles in their new projects.

  • She was excited when a rival firm decided to headhunt her for a leadership position.

Antonyms

to ignore
∞ 1.0

Choose not to pay attention to someone or something

to neglect
256 3.8

Fail to care for someone or something you should look after

How Active

to poach
16 7.0
to headhunt
2 5.8
to recruit
277 3.2

Surface Forms

headhunt infinitive
headhunted past
headhunted past participle
headhunting present participle
headhunts third person singular

Morphology

headhunt = head + hunt (semi-transparent) = head + hunt

Formed by compounding 'head' + 'hunt' with a metaphorical extension to recruiting people, which is not fully literal but the parts signal the general idea.

Etymology

Headhunt uses the same clear image of head and hunt: to 'hunt' for a 'head' or leader. So to headhunt someone is to search for and try to hire them for an important position.