645
Health and Safety at Work Act, the
letters above a story in a newspaper: The new road plan is in
the headlines again. 2 [usually pl.] a main point of the news,
as read on radio or television: The time is 12 o'clock: here are
the news headlines. → see also hit the headlines (HIT¹)
headline² v [T] 1 to give a headline to: The newspaper
headlined the changes in the government. 2 to direct atten-
tion to; bring to notice 3 AmE to be the leading performer
in: Frank Sinatra headlines tonight's show.
head-lin-er /'hedlaınər/ n the main performer or band in a
concert
head-long /'hedlɒŋ||-lɔ:/ adv, adj 1 (done) with foolish or
unthinking speed: They rushed headlong into marriage.
2 (happening) quickly, suddenly, and without control: a
headlong descent into anarchy and disorder 3 HEADFIRST
head-man /'hedmæn/ n pl. -men /mən/ a chief, especially of
a tribal village
head-mas-ter /ˌhed'mɑ:stər||ˈhedˌmæstər/ BrE || princi-
pal AmE — n the male teacher in charge of a school
head-mis-tress /ˌhed'mıstrıs||ˈhedˌmıstrıs/ BrE || princi-
pal AmE — n the female teacher in charge of a school
head of 'hair n [S] apprec a thick mass of hair on a person's
head: She has a beautiful/fine/thick head of hair.
head of 'state n (often caps.) the formal leader of a state, e.g.
the Queen in Britain, as opposed to the head of govern-
ment, e.g. the Prime Minister in Britain
head-'on adv, adj with the head or front parts meeting,
usually violently: The cars collided head-on. | a head-on
collision | (fig.) The government and the unions are set for a
head-on confrontation.
head-phones /'hedfəʊnz/ n [P] a piece of equipment made
to fit over the ears so that you can listen to the radio, a TAPE,
or a CD: listening to the music on (a pair of) headphones
head-piece /'hedpi:s/ n 1 something which fits closely over
the head, such as the HELMET of a suit of armour 2 (in
printing) a decorative heading at the top of a page or piece
of writing
head-quar-ters /'hed,kwɔ:təz, ˌhed'kwɔ:təz||-ɔ:rtərz/
abbrev. HQ n pl. -ters [C+sing/pl.v] the central office or place
where the people work who control a large organization,
such as the police or army or a private company: Our
headquarters is/are in Geneva.
head-rest /'hed-rest/ n 1 something which supports the
head, usually a suitably shaped part of the back of a chair or
of a front seat in a car 2 AmE for HEAD RESTRAINT
head re,straint BrE || headrest AmE — n a piece fitted on
to the top of a front seat in a car to prevent a person's neck
being injured in an accident
head-room /'hed-rʊm, -ru:m/ n [U] 1 the amount of space
above a vehicle passing under a bridge, through a TUNNEL etc:
not enough headroom 2 the amount of space above the
heads of the passengers in a vehicle: The new car has very
generous headroom.
head-rush /'hedrʌʃ/ n a sudden feeling of extreme pleasure
and excitement, especially one that you get soon after using
an illegal drug such as ECSTASY or COCAINE → compare RUSH
heads /hedz/ n [U] 1 the front side of a coin, which often
has the head of a king, queen, president etc on it 2 Heads
or tails? (a question someone asks when they TOSS a coin to
decide something) 3 Heads I win, tails you lose humor (used
to describe a situation in which the person being spoken to
cannot win)
head-scarf /'hedskɑ:f||-æ:rf/ also scarf, head-square
/'hedskweər/ n pl. -scarfs or -scarves /-skɑ:vz||-skɑ:rvz/ a
square piece of cloth folded from one corner to the opposite
one, worn on the head and tied under the chin
CULTURAL NOTE In Britain and the US headscarves are no
longer fashionable, and are worn mainly by older
upper-class women.
head-set /'hedset/ n HEADPHONES, often with a connected
MICROPHONE
head-ship /'hedʃıp/ n [C;U] 1 BrE the position or period in
office of a HEADMASTER or HEADMISTRESS: She's applied for a
headship at a big London school. 2 the position or period in
office of a person in charge of an organization
head-shrink-er /'hedˌʃrıŋkər/ n humor a PSYCHOANALYST
head-stand /'hedstænd/ n an act of supporting the body
upside down, with the head on the floor or ground and the
feet in the air, using the hands for balance: Can you do a
headstand?
,head 'start n [S(over, on)] an advantage, especially in a race or
competition: She's got a head start over her friends who are
learning French, because she has already lived in France for a
year.
head-stone /'hedstəʊn/ n a stone which marks the top end
of a grave, usually having the buried person's name on it;
GRAVESTONE
head-strong /'hedstrɒŋ||-strɔ:ŋ/ adj determined to do what
one wants in spite of all advice
,heads 'up interj infml (used as a warning of danger coming
from above) put your heads up and see what is coming:
Heads up - here comes the ball!
,head 'table n AmE for TOP TABLE
,head 'teacher BrE || principal AmE — n the teacher who is
in charge of a school; a HEADMASTER or HEADMISTRESS: J.
Beilby Smith, leader of the Head Teachers' Association
,head-to-'head adv, adj competing directly with another
person or group: Courier companies are going head-to-head
with the Post Office. | a head-to-head contest —head-to-
head n
,head 'waiter n the person in charge of WAITERS (=people
who bring food to the tables in a restaurant)
head-way /'hedwei/ n make headway to advance or gain
good results in dealing with a difficulty: They're trying to
reduce expenditure by 10% but they're not making much
headway.
head-wind /'hedˌwınd/ n a wind coming from in front and
blowing directly against one
head-word /'hedwɜ:d||-wɜ:rd/ n the word which is written
at the beginning of a description of its meaning, especially
in dictionaries: The next headword is 'heady'.
head-y /'hedi/ adj 1 (of alcohol and its effects) tending to
make people drunk, GIDDY etc 2 giving or having a feeling of
lightness and excitement: heady with success | On the last day
of term there was a heady atmosphere of excitement and relief.
heal /hi:l/ v 1 [I(OVER, UP)] (of a wounded part of the body) to
become healthy again, especially to grow new skin: The cut
will soon heal up/heal over. 2 [T(of)] fml or old use to make (a
person or part of the body) healthy again; CURE: This oint-
ment will help to heal the wound. | He was healed of his
sickness. | The leader tried to heal the divisions within his
party. → see also FAITH HEALING
heal-er /'hi:lər/ n a person who has, or is thought to have,
the power to heal others
,healing 'touch [the] the power to heal people by touching
them: The King was formerly thought to have the healing
touch. | (fig.) She put my car right in next to no time - she's
definitely got the healing touch!
Heal's /hi:lz/ trademark a large store in London that sells
good-quality modern furniture
health /helθ/ n 1 [U] the state of being well in the body and
mind, and free from disease: Health is more important to me
than money. | physical/mental health 2 [U] the condition of
the body with regard to disease: in poor health | I've always
enjoyed (=had) good health. | Cigarette smoking damages your
health. 3 [C;U] (before drinking) (a wish for) someone's
success and continued freedom from illness (especially in the
phrases drink someone's health, Your (good) health!) →
see also BILL OF HEALTH, DRINK¹, NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE
,health and 'safety n an area of British government and law
concerned with people's health and safety, especially at work.
Health and safety inspectors visit factories, offices, restau-
rants etc to check that the law is being obeyed, and many
institutions have their own health and safety officer.
,Health and ,Safety at 'Work Act, the a set of laws
made in the UK in 1974 in order to protect people at work
and make sure that they do not have to work in dangerous
conditions, without the proper clothing or safety equipment
etc