- present tense form of headquarter (3rd person singular).
headquarters
Americannoun
-
headquarters
plural
-
a center of operations, as of the police or a business, from which orders are issued; the chief administrative office of an organization.
The operatives were always in touch with headquarters.
-
the offices or working location of a military commander; the place from which a commander customarily issues orders.
-
a military unit consisting of the commander, his staff, and other assistants.
plural noun
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any centre or building from which operations are directed, as in the military, the police, etc
-
a military formation comprising the commander, his staff, and supporting echelons
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of headquarters
Explanation
The main office of an organization is its headquarters. The headquarters of your favorite video game company might be in New York. Companies, clubs, and religious groups all have headquarters, or a central administrative location. Militaries also have headquarters, although the word has a slightly different meaning in that context — military headquarters are where commanders and their staffs live and work. The word has been around since the 1600's, from the "most important or principal" meaning of head and quarters, originally "military dwelling place," and later "lodgings."
Vocabulary lists containing headquarters
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The advisors determined that Zuckerberg’s leadership presence at Meta headquarters was essential to the company’s success.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Many of the executives coming through Gund’s St. Louis headquarters and other Midwestern sites want to see if the Gund way could future-proof their own businesses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
Meta said the share deal was appropriate to ensure Zuckerberg "remains working closely" with the company's AI at its headquarters.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Homeboy, which provides jobs for current and former gang members, plans to sell the T-shirts at its headquarters near Chinatown and at its diners at L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
“We’ve just spent seven days learning everything we possibly could about their headquarters in Paris,” said Brooklyn.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
