behead

[bih-hed]

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verb (used with object)

to cut off the head of; kill or execute by decapitation.

Geology. (of a pirate stream) to divert the headwaters of (a river, stream, etc.).

Origin of behead

before 1000; Middle English behe(f)den, beheveden, Old English behēafdian. See be-, head

Related formsbe·head·al, nounbe·head·er, nounun·be·head·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for behead

execute, guillotine, kill, head, neck, decollate

Examples from the Web for behead

Contemporary Examples of behead

They not only kill soldiers in battle, they behead them and burn them.
Iraqi Soldiers Bribe Officers So They Don't Have to Fight ISIS
Niqash
October 8, 2014
When Khaled Saad answers his phone there is often a voice on the other end threatening to behead him.
Battle for the Sinai
Sophia Jones
July 15, 2013
Right now a young woman whose husband tried to behead her is recovering from her injuries in a Ghor hospital.
The Underground Educator
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
March 5, 2010
I suspect the Brits used to behead people for lesser breaches of protocol.
The Power of Michelle
Katty Kay
April 29, 2009

Historical Examples of behead

There was a Thorpe among the judges who voted to behead him.
The Market-Place
Harold Frederic
Then they made it appear that they were going to behead Man Sing.
In the Forbidden Land
Arnold Henry Savage Landor
Therefore, in order to realize the perfection, let us behead them.
Sophisms of the Protectionists
Frederic Bastiat
We could not behead it, as the Tibetans would not trust us with a knife or sword.
An Explorer's Adventures in Tibet
A. Henry Savage Landor
This is to signify that, as a member of the royal family, he has authority to behead them.
Modern Persia
Mooshie G. Daniel

British Dictionary definitions for behead

behead

verb

(tr) to remove the head from; decapitate

Word Origin for behead

Old English behēafdian, from be- + heafod head; related to Middle High German behoubeten

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

Word Origin and History for behead

Old English beheafdian, from be-, here with privative force, + heafod (see head (n.)). Related: Beheaded; beheading.