headdress

noun

head·​dress ˈhed-ˌdres 

: an often elaborate covering for the head

Illustration of headdress

Synonyms

• hat
• cap
• helmet

Examples of headdress in a Sentence

The dancers wore ceremonial headdresses.

most of the acrobats riding the horses and elephants wore some sort of fancy headdress

Recent Examples on the Web

This new album art features Swift, 35, in a sparkling headdress featuring jewels in two stars and dramatic makeup. —Marina Watts, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025

One through line between the films and the series are the headdresses, veils and hair jewelry. —Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025

An Overachiever for the Underdog When members of the Stop B2H coalition gather in Gilbert’s living room, a computerized display of properties in the path of the project sits on a chair just beneath a portrait of a Native American man in a headdress of fur and bison horns. —Tony Schick, ProPublica, 14 Aug. 2025

For her 2005 tour, Kylie Minogue performed at least four songs in a leotard dripping in crystals, a giant feather bustle and an enormous feather headdress. —Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1645, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for headdress

• abbess
• abscess
• access
• address
• assess
• caress
• confess
• depress
• digress
• distress
• egress
• excess

Kids Definition

headdress

noun

head·​dress ˈhed-ˌdres 

: a covering or ornament for the head