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  • heads up
    heads up
    interjection
    (used to call attention to an impending danger or the need for immediate alertness.)
  • heads-up
    heads-up
    adjective
    quick to grasp a situation and take advantage of opportunities; alert; resourceful.
Synonyms

heads up

1 American  

interjection

  1. (used to call attention to an impending danger or the need for immediate alertness.)

heads-up 2 American  
[hedz-uhp] / ˈhɛdzˌʌp /

adjective

  1. quick to grasp a situation and take advantage of opportunities; alert; resourceful.

noun

  1. a warning in advance.

    sending a heads-up to the Pentagon about possible attacks.
heads up British  

noun

  1. a tip-off or small amount of information given in advance

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
heads up Idioms  

  1. A warning to watch out for potential danger, as in Heads up, that tree is coming down now! The expression is generally in the form of an interjection. [c. 1940]

Usage

What does heads-up mean? As an exclamation, Heads up! is used to call attention to danger or another important matter. As a basic noun, a heads-up is an advance notice or warning.

Etymology

Origin of heads up1

First recorded in 1940–45

Origin of heads-up2

First recorded in 1945–50

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.

Heads up, as those seasons are added, Seasons 3-4 of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” are going away.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026

Heads up: This is a real create-your-own, mix-and-match, choose-your-own-ending type recipe.

From Salon • Sep. 16, 2023

"I said 'why you have your heads down? Heads up, it was good'," Guardiola said of that moment.

From BBC • Feb. 22, 2023

Heads up if you’re going to T-Mobile Park Friday or Saturday for a Mariners watch party: you may want to budget some extra time for traffic.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 7, 2022

I don't think in the course of my whole military experience I ever fought anything, except an old woman, who had the impudence to hallo out, "Heads up, lobster!"

From The Fatal Boots by Thackeray, William Makepeace

Definitions 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.