Definition

1. Noun:
   • A headlong dive or fall: A jump or fall where the body goes forward with the head first.
   • (Soccer) An act of striking the ball with the head: A technique used in soccer to control, pass, or score using the forehead.
   • A machine for harvesting: A machine that cuts the heads off grain crops and collects them.
   • (Construction) A supporting beam: A horizontal structural member placed across the top of an opening (like a door or window) or used to support the ends of other framing members.
   • (Construction) A brick or stone laid horizontally: A masonry unit laid with its longest side horizontal and its end exposed in the wall face.
   • A line of text at the top of a page or section: A title, heading, or piece of information (like a page number or date) that introduces or labels the content below it.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • He lost his balance and took a header down the stairs.
  • The striker scored with a powerful header from the corner kick.
  • The farmer used a header to harvest the wheat.
  • The carpenter installed a wooden header above the new window frame.
  • The bricklayer finished the course with a row of headers.
  • The report's header clearly stated the document title and author.

Advanced Usage

• "To take a header": To fall or dive headfirst.
  • He wasn't looking and took a header over the bicycle left on the path.
• In computing: A block of data at the beginning of a file, message, or data packet containing important control information.
  • The email header contains the sender's address and the subject line.

Variants and Related Words

• Head (v): To strike a ball with the head in soccer.
  • He headed the ball into the net.
• Heading (n): A title at the top of a page or section; can be synonymous with 'header' in textual contexts.
  • The chapter heading was in bold font.

Synonyms

• Dive: A plunge headfirst (for the "headlong jump" sense).
• Title: The name of a book, composition, or other artistic work (for the text sense).
• Heading: A title at the head of a page or section of text.
• Lintel: A horizontal support across the top of a door or window (construction sense).

Related Phrasal Verbs

(This word is primarily a noun and does not commonly form phrasal verbs.)

Related Idioms

• To take a header: To fall or plunge headfirst.
  • The skateboarder hit a rock and took a nasty header onto the pavement.

Noun

1. a headlong jump (or fall)
   • he took a header into the shrubbery
2. (soccer) the act of hitting the ball with your head
3. a machine that cuts the heads off grain and moves them into a wagon
4. a framing member crossing and supporting the ends of joists, studs, or rafters so as to transfer their weight to parallel joists, studs, or rafters
5. brick that is laid sideways at the top of a wall
6. horizontal beam used as a finishing piece over a door or window
7. a line of text serving to indicate what the passage below it is about
   • the heading seemed to have little to do with the text