EN

Synonyms for head

66 synonyms
14 antonyms
7 meanings

noun
verb
adjective

Most common

chief principal superintendent director mind intellect bed head headland

Synonyms by meaning

Noun

1. Chief — A leader or expert. A headteacher

chief, principal, superintendent, director, chieftain, leader, commander, boss, manager, leading, main, leadership, headmaster UK IE, overseer, ruler, controller, administrator, headmistress IE, master dated

2. Mind — the part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs. To do with…

mind, intellect, caput, thought, understanding, intelligence, noggin slang, noodle slang informal, pate dated, nut slang

3. Toilet room — A significant or important part. A beginning or end, a protuberance. The toilet of a ship

bed head, water closet UK, throne, bathroom US, toilet, closet, can slang, toilet room dated

4. Headland

headland, promontory

Other

skull, ear, neck, beginning, cranium, top dog, headpiece, foam, section, blow job, rise, scalp

Verb

1. Direct

direct, guide, steer

2. Lead — to come at the beginning or front of; to commence

Other

strike back, bear, command, rule, behead

Adjective

1. Top — placed at the top or the front

first, top dated

Other

crown, fore, foremost

Antonyms

subordinate, heart, body

All antonyms of head →

Definitions

n. 1
The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs. To do with heads. Mental or emotional aptitude or skill.
He has no head for heights.
n. 2
A leader or expert. A headteacher.
I was called into the head's office to discuss my behaviour.
v. 1
To come at the beginning or front of; to commence.
A group of clowns headed the procession.
adj. 1
Placed at the top or the front.

Related words

Word family: headache headbanger headboard headbox headcloth headcollar header headfish
Phrases: head over heels head off head honcho head tenant head man head cheese lose one's head head to toe

Forms

Plural: heads → chiefs, principals, superintendents, directors…
Past participle: headed
e.g. headed → directed, guided, steered, leaded…

Choose the right word

Head or Topos?

topos, place) is a head of discourse.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

director I've been speaking to your director and he agreed.
chief High tariffs are the chief obstacles to free trade.
boss Between you and me, he's in trouble with the boss.
commander Yanni remained commander of the aircraft carrier.
caput Please remove your caput from your rectum.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
head		rising
director		falling
chief		falling
boss		rising
commander		steady
caput		falling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters: can¹, top¹, ear¹, nut¹
4 letters: mind¹, main¹, lead¹, rule¹, boss¹, rise¹, bear¹, neck¹, foam¹, fore¹, pate¹
5 letters: first¹, front¹, chief¹, guide¹, crown¹, skull¹, ruler², steer¹, scalp¹, caput²
6 letters: leader², master², direct², toilet², throne¹, closet², noodle², behead², noggin
7 letters: thought¹, manager³, leading², section², command², cranium³
8 letters: director³, bathroom², foremost², overseer⁴, headland
9 letters: beginning³, principal³, commander³, intellect³, chieftain², headpiece
10 letters: leadership³, controller³, headmaster³, promontory
12 letters: intelligence⁴, headmistress³
13 letters: understanding⁴, administrator⁵
14 letters: superintendent⁵

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (ruler² = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français: tête
Italiano: testa
Español: cabeza
Deutsch: Kopf