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Synonyms

forehead

American  
[fawr-id, for-, fawr-hed, for-] / ˈfɔr ɪd, ˈfɒr-, ˈfɔrˌhɛd, ˈfɒr- /

noun

  • foreheads
    plural
  1. the part of the face above the eyebrows; brow.

  2. the fore or front part of anything.


forehead British  
/ ˈfɔːˌhɛd, ˈfɒrɪd /

noun

  1. the part of the face between the natural hairline and the eyes, formed skeletally by the frontal bone of the skull; brow

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of forehead

before 1000; Middle English forehe ( v ) ed, Old English forhēafod. See fore-, head

Explanation

Your forehead is the top part of your face, just below your hairline and above your eyebrows. If you have long bangs, they cover up most of your forehead. You can also call your forehead your "brow." It's important for communication, since the forehead helps people express basic emotions — muscles in your forehead control the movement of your eyebrows, which help you express concern and anger, among other feelings. Forehead has the Old English roots fore, "the front part," and heafod, "top of the body," or "head."

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Vocabulary lists containing forehead

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.

See Examples For:

Usman Muhammad pauses by the entrance to a tiny Nigerian prison cell and leans his forehead against the wall unable to speak.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Lifts of all sorts are, no pun intended, on the rise: forehead and brow lifts up 29 percent; arm lifts and neck lifts both up 21 percent.

From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026

In my newfound visibility, I doubled down on the style that concealed something — anything — about me, if only a few inches of forehead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

After years battling her forehead wrinkles with Botox injections, Stephanie Abend realized something surprising: She wanted some of them back.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

“One moment, Regan,” he said, and we turned as he made his way back down the hallway toward us, his forehead scrunched in concentration.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

We’ve watched celebrities undertake this shape-shifting toward pillowy lips, smooth foreheads, high cheekbones.

From Slate ● Sep. 2, 2026

On Wednesday, Ben Gvir sparked an outcry internationally but also within his own government by publishing a video of dozens of activists kneeling with their foreheads on the ground and their hands tied.

From Barron's ● May 22, 2026

Silver pearls glisten on the men’s foreheads and their eyes are sunken deep in their pale faces, framed in a stubble of beard.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025

They keep dancing with their foreheads and noses touching, upon which she starts laughing because she feels "so nosey".

From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2025

Liam leaned down so his face was level with mine, so close that our foreheads were nearly touching.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken

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