: a message that alerts or prepares : warning
gave him a heads-up that an investigation was pending
: showing or requiring keen awareness and swift action
heads-up football
a heads-up player
Alex Rodriguez's heads-up play helped give Seattle the upper hand in a 3-2 victory Saturday against Baltimore.—
Chuck Johnson
Chuck Johnson
—used as a warning to look out for danger especially overhead or to clear a passageway
Examples of heads-up in a Sentence
Noun
thanks for the heads-up about the upcoming visit from the corporate big shots
Recent Examples on the Web
Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
But Russia has had plenty of heads-up about what sanctions might be coming, and significant support from allies to evade them.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 16 Mar. 2023
Or [expect that employees will] give me a heads-up.
—Luther Ray Abel, National Review, 8 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for heads-up
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Noun
Another protection identified by the Utah law is that users are to be given a heads-up by the AI maker about what their AI is capable of, along with what their AI is not capable of.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
But Russia has had plenty of heads-up about what sanctions might be coming, and significant support from allies to evade them.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
Just a heads-up - Midjourney's AI can now do hands correctly.
—Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 16 Mar. 2023
Or [expect that employees will] give me a heads-up.
—Luther Ray Abel, National Review, 8 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for heads-up
Cite this Entry
“Heads-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heads-up. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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