(of two objects) meeting with the fronts or heads foremost.
a head-on collision.
facing the direction of forward motion or alignment; frontal.
characterized by direct opposition.
a head-on confrontation.
with the front or fronts foremost
a head-on collision
with directness or without compromise
in his usual head-on fashion
With the face or front first, as in The two bicycles collided head on . [Early 1800s]
In direct conflict, in open opposition, as in They decided to meet the opposition head on .
An Americanism dating back to 1830–40
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Moore said she is a “huge proponent” of addressing conflict head-on via face-to-face communication.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026
The company helped spark this in part by confronting these risks head-on.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
From tiny island states to European powers and emerging markets, nations attended the conference voluntarily after an effort to tackle fossil fuels head-on at last year's COP30 failed.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
Trine Egetved told public broadcaster DR that it was shocking that two trains could collide head-on "and we must ensure it never happens again".
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
People gave those riders a chance to get off the bus, and they didn’t, and I’m going to face intolerance head-on as well.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
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.
