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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
translation icon : 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
153 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
41 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
40 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
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
chief of state
vshead of state
1 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
governor general
vshead of state
  • Australian
1 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

How Powerful

dictator
218 4.2
head of state
  • Formal
49 3.5
prime minister
216 2.3
local authority
  • UK
51 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.