(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.
It’s turned into an all too familiar ritual: college sports dancing around an eventuality, instead of proactively tackling the hardest parts head-on.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 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
The head-on collision exposed the parlous state of the Greek railway network's safety precautions -- despite European Union grants for their modernisation and repeated warnings from unions.
From Barron's • Mar. 23, 2026
“In fact, we believe hyperscalers are more likely to attempt head-on competition, going after GPU cloud business as the natural adjacency to traditional cloud,” which could cannibalize CoreWeave’s business.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026
Settling scores in the deputy principal’s office might seem like a good idea to some, but Dad had always taught me it was better to face things head-on.
From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge
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.
