loggerhead

[ law-ger-hed, log-er- ]
/ ˈlɔ gərˌhɛd, ˈlɒg ər- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR loggerhead ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a thick-headed or stupid person; blockhead.
loggerhead turtle.
loggerhead shrike.
a ball or bulb of iron with a long handle, used, after being heated, to melt tar, heat liquids, etc.
a rounded post, in the stern of a whaleboat, around which the harpoon line is passed.
a circular inkwell having a broad, flat base.

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Idioms for loggerhead

    at loggerheads, engaged in a disagreement or dispute; quarreling: They were at loggerheads over the distribution of funds.

Origin of loggerhead

1580–90; logger block of wood (first attested alone in 18th century) + head

OTHER WORDS FROM loggerhead

log·ger·head·ed, adjective

Words nearby loggerhead

logasthenia, logbook, loge, loggan stone, logger, loggerhead, loggerhead shrike, loggerhead turtle, loggerheads, loggets, loggia
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to at loggerheads

combative, contentious, hostile, quarrelsome, ornery, bellicose, antagonistic, aggressive, fierce, militant, flip, fighting, mean, conflicting, ardent, cantankerous, hot, hot-tempered, pugnacious

British Dictionary definitions for at loggerheads

loggerhead
/ (ˈlɒɡəˌhɛd) /

noun

Also called: loggerhead turtle a large-headed turtle, Caretta caretta, occurring in most seas: family Chelonidae
loggerhead shrike a North American shrike, Lanius ludovicianus, having a grey head and body, black-and-white wings and tail, and black facial stripe
a tool consisting of a large metal sphere attached to a long handle, used for warming liquids, melting tar, etc
a strong round upright post in a whaleboat for belaying the line of a harpoon
archaic, or dialect a blockhead; dunce
at loggerheads engaged in dispute or confrontation

Derived forms of loggerhead

loggerheaded, adjective

Word Origin for loggerhead

C16: probably from dialect logger wooden block + head
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

Cultural definitions for at loggerheads

at loggerheads

Engaged in a head-on dispute: “Labor and management are at loggerheads in this affair, and it may be some time before they can negotiate a settlement.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with at loggerheads

at loggerheads

Engaged in a quarrel or dispute, as in The two families were always at loggerheads, making it difficult to celebrate holidays together. This term may have come from some earlier meaning of loggerhead, referring either to a blockhead or stupid person, or to a long-handled iron poker with a bulb-shaped end that was heated in the fire and used to melt pitch. If it was the latter, it may have been alluded to as a weapon. [Late 1600s] For a synonym, see at odds.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.