headache
Americannoun
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a pain located in the head, as over the eyes, at the temples, or at the base of the skull.
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an annoying or bothersome person, situation, activity, etc.
noun
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Technical name: cephalalgia. pain in the head, caused by dilation of cerebral arteries, muscle contraction, insufficient oxygen in the cerebral blood, reaction to drugs, etc
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informal any cause of worry, difficulty, or annoyance
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Pain in the head, caused by stimulation of or pressure to any of various structures of the head, such as tissue covering the cranium, cranial nerves, or blood vessels. Headache can be a primary disorder, as in migraine or cluster headaches, or a common symptom associated with head injury or many illnesses such as acute infection, brain tumor or abscess, eye disorders such as glaucoma, dental disease, and hypertension.
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See also cluster headache migraine
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of headache
before 1000; Middle English; Old English hēafodece. See head, ache
Compare meaning
How does headache compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A headache is a pain or ache in your head, especially one that lasts longer than a few minutes. You might get a headache after a day of staring at a computer screen. There are many reasons for getting a headache, from staying up too late to a stressful day to skipping your morning cup of coffee. A more serious type of headache, like a migraine, might keep you home from work for a day, but most headaches are just a nuisance. You can also describe a problem or struggle as a figurative headache: "Learning Danish is turning out to be a real headache." In Old English, the word was heafodece.
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:
Another headache will be tackling ballooning welfare costs, which Burnham has acknowledged need to be reduced.
From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026
It followed a busy festive period with her husband Ross and four-year-old twins Max and Freddie, and when she developed a headache she initially thought she had just "overdone it".
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Another headache arose on Friday with Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing it of stealing trade secrets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
In more severe cases, symptoms include high fever, headache, neck stiffness, vision loss, paralysis and coma.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
That day Papá complained about a terrible headache and his back, and insisted Mamá stay home to take care of him and the children.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
Plus, we’ll look at how you can protect yourself from future healthcare headaches.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
And since it never quotes the book directly, it sidesteps a lot of copyright headaches.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
By using federal land in Ohio, the government and its partners hope to avoid the permitting headaches and local opposition that are snarling data centers across the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Excessive consumption has been linked to headaches and sleep problems.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
“But listen. You have no idea what it feels like to have headaches like this. No idea. It hurts,” I say—and I realize tears are running down my face, though I’m not sobbing.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
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.
