headbutt

noun

head·​butt ˈhed-ˌbət 

variants or head-butt or head butt

plural headbutts or head-butts or head butts

: a violent blow with the forehead or crown of the head especially into the face or head of another person

I took the offensive next, figuring a headbutt to the bridge of his nose would be a strategic response …

—Corwin Ericson

A fearless former BMX racer … , McEwen uses elbows, shoulders and an occasional head butt to fight for position in the sprint.

—Michael Henson

headbutt verb, transitive + intransitive

or head-butt

headbutted or head-butted; headbutting or head-butting; headbutts or head-butts

When Mr. Bartle got up, Gordon headbutted him, breaking his nose and leaving him needing an operation …

—Rob Kennedy

It has been awhile since Dennis Rodman head-butted Chicago's Stacey King and was ejected from a game …

—Joe Menzer

Ordinary soccer brutes head-butt to break an opponent's nose.

—Time

headbutter noun

or head-butter

plural headbutters or head-butters

The others, skinny kids from Leeds, were headbutters and kickers and they got into a corner and took out several locals before Cashin … got there.

—Peter Temple

Examples of headbutt in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But Fenix, just weeks after debuting in WWE, lost his WrestleMania debut match after Americano slyly placed a steel plate inside his mask before blasting Fenix with a devastating headbutt. —Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 20 Apr. 2025

Nunez was sent off in his first game at Anfield for a rash headbutt in a disappointing 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. —Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025

Blood is spewing out of Serrano's right eye from the earlier headbutt. —Greg Rosenstein, NBC News, 16 Nov. 2024

The ref just took a point from Taylor for the headbutts. —Greg Rosenstein, NBC News, 16 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined above