headdress

noun

head·​dress ˈhed-ˌdres 

: an often elaborate covering for the head

Illustration of headdress

Synonyms of headdress

• 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

Besides teaching, Janice Minabe offers costume workshops and designs her daughter’s competition wear, including the towering headdress, which is likened to balancing a small floral garden on top of the skull. — Marcia Luttrell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 July 2026

At one point Pantani was forced to angrily shove a fan in a headdress who gets too close. — Duncan Alexander, New York Times, 24 July 2026

Though the mural, which depicts a man in a headdress holding a spear, had been removed for conservation in 2004, the team relied on advanced imaging techniques to reconstruct both the work and its surrounding architecture. — Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 17 July 2026

All the exquisite details—the man’s glowing salmon-pink tunic, the cherrylike tip of his headdress, the fluffy tassels—are an excuse for pure visual stimulation. — Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 13 July 2026

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