heads 1 of 2

noun

plural of head
1
as in skulls
the upper or front part of the body that contains the brain, the major sense organs, and the mouth I hit my head as I went through the low doorway

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in helms
the place of leadership or command every year a different parent is placed at the head of the troop's cookie drive

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in foams
a light mass of fine bubbles formed in or on a liquid the head on the ice cream soda rose a good two inches above the rim of the glass

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in guys
a member of the human race the tour guide counted heads, and everyone was present

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in crises
a time or state of affairs requiring prompt or decisive action when the disagreement between the two departments came to a head, the CEO called both managers in for a closed-door meeting

Synonyms & Similar Words
6
as in headwaters
the beginning part of a stream Lake Itasca in Minnesota is the head of the Mississippi River

Synonyms & Similar Words
7
as in tops
the highest part or point stood at the head of the stairs and looked down

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
8
as in minds
the part of a person that feels, thinks, perceives, wills, and especially reasons challenged us to put our heads together and find a solution to the skyrocketing costs of the company's health insurance plans

Synonyms & Similar Words
9
as in bosses
the person (as an employer or supervisor) who tells people and especially workers what to do as head of the planning committee, he had the responsibility of appointing someone to look into the parking situation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
10
as in dams
a bank of earth constructed to control water built a head to create a millpond

Synonyms & Similar Words
11
as in bathrooms
a room furnished with a fixture for flushing body waste give me a chance to visit the head, and I'll be all set to go

Synonyms & Similar Words
12
as in users
a person who regularly uses drugs especially illegally a shop near campus where all the heads used to get their paraphernalia

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
13
as in fans
a person with a strong and habitual liking for something she's a total tech head who adores home electronics and computers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
14
as in headings
a word or series of words often in larger letters placed at the beginning of a passage or at the top of a page in order to introduce or categorize rechecked to make sure that all the heads were in boldface

Synonyms & Similar Words
15
as in talents
a special and usually inborn ability I have no head for numbers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

heads

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of head
1
as in turns
to go on a specified course or in a certain direction she'll be heading out east in the fall to attend college

Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in leads
to be at the front of heading the procession at the dog show was a miniature poodle, followed by dogs seemingly of every breed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in supervises
to be in charge of who headed the CIA when Ronald Reagan was president?

Synonyms & Similar Words
4
as in goes
to be positioned along a certain course or in a certain direction the road to riches headed north, thought many, as off they went to Alaska to try their luck at panning gold

Synonyms & Similar Words
5
as in aims
to point or turn (something) toward a target or goal after a long day at the beach, we headed the car toward home

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in commands
to serve as leader of Robert La Salle headed the expedition that claimed Louisiana for the French king

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in decapitates
to cut off the head of got a job at the slaughterhouse heading cattle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of heads
Noun
Their heads are broad and coppery in color, and their eyes have vertical, catlike pupils. — Rachel Silva, Martha Stewart, 19 Aug. 2026 Given that characterization, Giacometti-heads will likely fork over serious dough for this work, especially given its provenance. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 19 Aug. 2026 The Club Kid Trailer Is a Bump of Sweetness Jordan Firstman’s upcoming comedy heads straight for awards season. — Britina Cheng, Vulture, 19 Aug. 2026 Lowden details peeling back the layers of River and why the character ends up in a much more hopeful place as the show heads into its sixth season. — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026 For European countries, this means building military capacity, fighting tooth and nail to prevent Russia and the United States from making deals over their heads, and taking a more detached approach to conflicts in more distant parts of the world. — Mark Leonard, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026 That moment is useful because things often feel a lot more certain inside our own heads. — Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Trump frequently posts official government announcements exclusively on Truth Social, including military attacks and ceasefires, the hiring and firing of agency heads, and major domestic policies, the lawsuit said. — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 12 Aug. 2026 Lucas Jackson | Reuters After years of standing in the sun, retail investors could have a dark cloud forming over their heads. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 12 Aug. 2026
Verb
Additional international sales agents and territorial partners are expected to be named in the coming months as the film heads toward its wider release. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 Aug. 2026 When Elaine asks for an in-person meeting, Rebecca heads there immediately, despite Pinter’s offices being inconveniently located at Canary Wharf. — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 19 Aug. 2026 Manjari Sihare-Sutin, who heads Sotheby’s South Asian Modern and Contemporary department, said her team rejects an average of two works ahead of every sale because of authenticity concerns. — Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 19 Aug. 2026 Bansal, 42, started the business in 2010 with his sister Neha, who heads merchandising and two other cofounders, Amit Chaudhari, the sourcing chief and Sumeet Kapahi, who oversees the store network. — Anu Raghunathan, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Schedule the vehicle inspection a week or two before your student heads back to campus. — Emily Mercer, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026 Another opposition leader, Avigdor Liberman who heads Yisrael Beiteinu, sat with Ra’am in the 2021-2022 government. — Tomer Almagor, Sun Sentinel, 17 Aug. 2026 Kahan is in the midst of his The Great Divide world tour, which heads to Petco Park in San Diego on Monday. — Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2026 Abdul Rashid Yob, who heads a farmers association representing 200,000 members nationwide, pointed to previous negative experience with the herbicide-tolerant Clearfield rice. — ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heads
  1. skulls
  2. helms
  3. foams
  4. guys
  5. crises
  6. headwaters
  7. tops
  8. minds
Noun
  • All the while the fMRI churned on, peering through the dogs’ skulls into the brain below and looking for the areas that lit up as a result of the visual stimuli.
    — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Mix up the coquette and the macabre with a light pink mug that features a pattern of both skulls and bows; opt for a shiny pink cauldron to lean into a feminine Halloween; or go for the cute figural option of a smiling ghost.
    — Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of skulls
Noun
  • The young chef helms Maximo, a modern Mexican restaurant focused on heirloom corn and masa in the West University Place area of Houston.
    — Alana Al-Hatlani, Southern Living, 16 June 2026
  • Charlie Day helms Luigi, Jack Black is Bowser, Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek and Keegan-Michael Key will play Toad.
    — Michael Saponara, Billboard, 10 Mar. 2026
Definition of helms
Noun
  • Materials science company Balena is exploring whether its flexible biomaterial could provide stretch and support in intimate apparel while reducing the category’s reliance on elastane, nylon, foams and other synthetic components.
    — Alexandra Harrell, Footwear News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • For decades, the military has extinguished fires using foams containing toxic PFAS.
    — Austin Fast, USA Today, 26 July 2026
Definition of foams
Noun
  • Was there anything that wasn’t in this restaurant before that you guys threw in specifically for this episode that didn’t exist before or after in the restaurant?
    — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Not even the guys who left screaming, and some left screaming.
    — Jeff Rabhan, Rolling Stone, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of guys
Noun
  • Africa's most populous country will hold the election against a backdrop of worsening economic and security crises that have caused anger among voters against Tinubu's government.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The sharp increase in the need for mental health services, along with the wave of police reforms, spurred departments nationwide to find better ways to respond to personal crises.
    — Shun Graves, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of crises
Noun
  • The headwaters of this 1,400-mile long artery are in the Rocky Mountains, fed by melting snowpack.
    — Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
  • Following an exceedingly warm year that has left the Colorado River’s headwaters in the Rocky Mountains largely snowless, Lake Mead is nearing a record-low level.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 16 July 2026
Definition of headwaters
Noun
  • If the tops brown too quickly, loosely cover with foil during the final 15-20 minutes.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Available as a single panel made to your exact measurements, it can be configured with everything from rod pockets and tab tops to back tabs or grommets depending on your space.
    — Nina Derwin, Architectural Digest, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of tops
Noun
  • Although strong evidence shows that vaccines are safe, facts alone rarely change minds.
    — Felice J. Freyer, STAT, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The trend has been fueled in part by unfounded claims that jets are spraying chemicals to control people’s minds or manipulate the weather.
    — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of minds

Phrases Containing heads

Browse Nearby Words

headquarters
heads
head-scratcher
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Heads.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heads. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on heads

Nglish: Translation of heads for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of rigmarole

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All