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department head

department head

20 3.0
A person who leads a department in a company or school
  • noun
  • /dɪˈpɑrtmənt hɛd/
translation icon : jefe de departamento
  • I would like all department heads in the conference room in five minutes.
  • department head/chairperson
  • role of the department head
  • department head position

And, you know, 'cause the department heads, they, they hire them.

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Examples

  • I'm Marla Bloodstone, the department head here.

  • Also, l have to be back at school to clear up some things with my department head.

  • The point of view of the department head is unique among university personnel.

    Academic text (1991)
  • After all, professional development is one of the responsibilities of the department head.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Just before the shift changed in Security, I had a call from Pete Albertsen, the department head.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • We need strong department heads to oversee this merger.

  • Department heads report to Dr. Van Ness immediately.

  • Every Wednesday, all department heads meet to discuss their teams' challenges.

  • As the department head, she is responsible for overseeing all staff in her division.

  • The new department head introduced several changes to improve productivity in the office.

Synonyms

chief
vsdepartment head
1.9

A person who leads a group or community

is lower in scope, leading a single department rather than the whole group
boss
vsdepartment head
1.0

A person in charge of a group or workers

is specific to managing one department rather than any supervisor role
head
vsdepartment head
2.2

A person who is in charge of a group or organization

is responsible for a single department within an organization
director
vsdepartment head
3.0

A person who manages resources and spending in an organization

is in charge of a particular department rather than mainly managing resources
superintendent
vsdepartment head
166 6.0

A person who manages an organization or its department, often in police and schools

is used for the leader of one department in any organization
general manager
vsdepartment head
97 3.0

A person who is in charge of all parts of a business or department

focuses on leading one department rather than running entire operations
head honcho
vsdepartment head
  • Slang
9 6.3

A person who is in charge of a company or group

is the formal title for leading one department rather than an informal label

How Senior

executive
533 4.5
director
424 3.0
department head
20 3.0
manager
1.6
supervisor
346 2.8
staff member
90 1.5

Surface Forms

Morphology

department + head

The meaning 'the person in charge of a department' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'department' (an organizational unit) with 'head' (a leader). The compound pattern 'X head' meaning 'leader of X' is common in English and cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Department head is a compound made from department (a group or area of work) and head (the top person). Imagine the head standing at the front of a department to guide everyone, so it means 'the person in charge'.