HEAD


Meaning of HEAD in English

I.

noun

1 part of the body

ADJECTIVE

▪ bare

▪ bald

▪ shaved

▪ blonde , dark , fair , grey/gray , greying/graying

▪ bent , bowed

She sat with bowed ~.

▪ throbbing

▪ severed

The city gates were adorned with severed ~s.

▪ crowned ( figurative )

The message was sent to all the crowned ~s (= kings and queens) of Europe.

VERB + HEAD

▪ poke , pop , put , stick

He put his ~ around the door.

▪ bob , cock , crane , incline , jerk , tilt , turn

She jerked her ~ in the direction of the door.

▪ lift , raise

▪ bend , bow , drop , duck , hang , lower

He hung his ~ in shame.

▪ swing , throw back , toss

He threw his ~ back and laughed out loud.

▪ nod , shake

They nodded their ~s in agreement.

She shook her ~ in disbelief.

▪ scratch

He scratched his ~, not understanding a word.

Detectives have been left scratching their ~s over the stolen painting. ( figurative )

▪ bang , hit

▪ pat , rub

▪ clutch , hold

He lay writhing on the ground, clutching his ~ in pain.

▪ bury

She buried her ~ in the pillow.

▪ cover

▪ lay , lean , rest

She rested her ~ on his shoulder.

▪ shave

He shaved his ~ and became a monk.

HEAD + VERB

▪ ache , pound , throb

▪ bob , jerk , nod , tilt , turn

Her ~ tilted to one side as she considered the question.

▪ droop , drop , fall , hang down , hang low

His ~ drooped and tears fell into his lap.

▪ rest

▪ hit sth

I'm normally asleep as soon as my ~ hits the pillow.

HEAD + NOUN

▪ injury

▪ cold

PREPOSITION

▪ above your ~

The thunder burst with a grand crash above our ~s.

▪ over your ~

The soldiers were ordered to fire over the ~s of the crowd.

PHRASES

▪ from ~ to foot , from ~ to toe

We were covered from ~ to foot in mud.

▪ a fine, full, good, thick, etc. ~ of hair (= a lot of hair)

a woman with a beautiful ~ of chestnut hair

▪ have, hold, put, etc. your ~ in your hands

He put his ~ in his hands, exasperated.

▪ ~ first

He dived ~ first into the water.

She got divorced and rushed ~ first into another marriage. ( figurative )

▪ a nod of the ~

The ambassador dismissed him with a curt nod of the ~.

▪ a shake of the ~

She declined with a brief shake of the ~.

2 mind

ADJECTIVE

▪ clear , cool , level

She needed to keep a clear ~ if she was to remain in control.

▪ good

I have a good ~ for figures.

VERB + HEAD

▪ use

I wish you'd use your ~ (= think carefully before doing or saying something) .

▪ enter

It never entered my ~ that he might be lying.

▪ pop into

It was the first name that popped into my ~.

▪ get it into

When will you get it into your ~ (= understand) that I don't want to discuss this any more!

For some reason she got it into her ~ ( = started to believe ) that the others don't like her.

▪ put sth into

Who's been putting such weird ideas into your ~?

▪ get sth out of , put sth out of

I can't get that tune out of my ~.

Try to put the exams out of your ~ for tonight.

▪ bother

Don't bother your pretty little ~ with things like that!

▪ clear

I decided to go for a walk to clear my ~.

HEAD + VERB

▪ spin

He could feel his ~ spinning after only one drink.

PREPOSITION

▪ in your ~

I can't work it out in my head—I need a calculator.

▪ inside your ~

It was an accident, said a voice inside his ~.

PHRASES

▪ can't get your ~ round sth (= can't understand sth) ( BrE , informal )

She's dead. I can't get my ~ round it yet.

▪ need your ~ examined

He looked at me as if I needed my ~ examined (= as if I were crazy) .

▪ your thick ~ (= used to show that you are annoyed that sb does not understand sth) ( informal )

When will you get it into your thick ~ that I don't want to see you again!

3 heads side of a coin

VERB + HEADS

▪ call

I called ~s and it came down tails.

▪ come down , come up ( esp. AmE )

PHRASES

▪ ~s or tails?

4 of a group, organization, school, etc.

ADJECTIVE

▪ assistant , deputy

▪ department , departmental

▪ nominal , titular

He is only the nominal ~ of the company.

The Queen is titular ~ of the Church of England.

▪ former

HEAD + NOUN

▪ coach , gardener , teacher ( BrE ), waiter

▪ boy , girl (= in a school) (both BrE )

PHRASES

▪ a ~ of department

▪ the ~ of the family , the ~ of the household

▪ a ~ of government , a ~ of state

a summit meeting of ~s of state

▪ the ~ of the group

II.

verb

1 go

ADVERB

▪ north , northwards , etc.

We ~ed west for two days.

▪ down , off , out , up , etc.

▪ back

Let's ~ back home.

▪ home

PREPOSITION

▪ back to

We ~ed straight back to school.

▪ for

He turned and ~ed for the door.

▪ towards/toward

She stood up and ~ed towards/toward the exit.

2 ( also head up ) be in charge of sth

VERB + HEAD

▪ appoint sb to

She has been appointed to ~ up the research team.

Head is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ boat , ↑ footstep , ↑ traffic , ↑ train

Head is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ ball , ↑ bill , ↑ cast , ↑ coalition , ↑ commission , ↑ committee , ↑ delegation , ↑ department , ↑ division , ↑ enquiry , ↑ expedition , ↑ field , ↑ firm , ↑ force , ↑ goal , ↑ government , ↑ group , ↑ household , ↑ investigation , ↑ list , ↑ panel , ↑ party , ↑ procession , ↑ regime , ↑ task force , ↑ team , ↑ way

Oxford Collocations English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь словосочетаний .