1
: pain in the head
2
: a vexatious or baffling situation or problem
… meetings had become a giant headache.—
Franklin Foer
Franklin FoerExamples 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
Zelensky’s lead negotiator in the talks, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak, resigned on Friday after anti-corruption agencies raided his home, creating a huge domestic headache at a time of diplomatic and military vulnerability for Kyiv.
—Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
The timing of the ground stop coincided with a high-volume weekend for domestic travel in the wake of the Thanksgiving holiday, compounding travel headaches for passengers and airlines.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2025
Dehydration can lead to fatigue, headaches, and a host of other issues, especially when flying.
—Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 29 Nov. 2025
Sotheby’s landed the Lauder and Pritzker collections, as well as the Surrealist consignments — Christie’s won the Weis estate, which would total $218 million, easily surpassing its $180 million estimate — but there were other headaches to overcome.
—Rachel Corbett, Curbed, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for headache
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025
The timing of the ground stop coincided with a high-volume weekend for domestic travel in the wake of the Thanksgiving holiday, compounding travel headaches for passengers and airlines.
—Hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Nov. 2025
Dehydration can lead to fatigue, headaches, and a host of other issues, especially when flying.
—Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 29 Nov. 2025
Sotheby’s landed the Lauder and Pritzker collections, as well as the Surrealist consignments — Christie’s won the Weis estate, which would total $218 million, easily surpassing its $180 million estimate — but there were other headaches to overcome.
—Rachel Corbett, Curbed, 28 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for headache
Video
An Abbreviated History of American English Spelling
Soop, wimmen, and headake did not make the cut
Cite this Entry
“Headache.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/headache. Accessed 4 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share