headache

noun

head·​ache ˈhed-ˌāk 

1

: pain in the head

2

: a vexatious or baffling situation or problem

… meetings had become a giant headache.

—Franklin Foer

headachy adjective

or less commonly headachey

ˈhed-ˌā-kē 

Synonyms of headache

• job
• killer
• burden
• effort

Examples of headache in a Sentence

I'm starting to get a headache.

The symptoms include fever and headache.

The city's biggest headache is traffic.

Managing your finances can be a real headache.

Recent Examples on the Web

Other warning signs include headache, nausea and muscle cramps, along with a fast pulse or feeling faint. — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 6 July 2026

Watch for heavy sweating, dizziness, weakness, headache, nausea, muscle cramps, a fast pulse or a faint feeling. — Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 6 July 2026

Legionnaires‘ disease is a type of serious pneumonia that causes cough, fever, headaches, shortness of breath and nausea. — Cara Lynn Shultz, PEOPLE, 6 July 2026

Americans who have health insurance say prior authorization is the healthcare system’s biggest burden, causing administrative headaches while care is kept out of reach. — Miranda Yaver, The Conversation, 2 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing headache

• cluster headache
• ice-cream headache
• pre-headache
• sick headache
• splitting headache
• tension headache

Rhymes for headache

• awake
• backache
• beefsteak
• betake
• cheesecake
• cupcake
• daybreak
• earthquake
• forsake
• gouache
• handshake
• heartache

Video

An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling

Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut

Kids Definition

headache

noun

head·​ache ˈhed-ˌāk 

1

: pain in the head

2

: an annoying or baffling situation or problem

headachy

-ˌā-kē 

adjective

Medical Definition

headache

noun

head·​ache ˈhed-ˌāk 

: pain in the head

called also cephalalgia

headachy

-ˌā-kē 

adjective