headache
Americannoun
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headaches
plural
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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:
Or is it a financial and logistical headache?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
“You need to do the new search, so it’s a headache, and somewhere in the subconscious…people just withdraw.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Wet weather has drenched the Games since Sunday, another headache for organisers wrestling with complaints from teams about accommodation and transport.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
It was an evocative choice - and a logistical headache.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Possessives were a similar headache, and it was easier to say nothing than to announce that the left-hand and the right-hand glove of Janet had fallen to the floor.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Plus, the push for digital sovereignty is causing big headaches for multinational companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Detained immigrants quickly began experiencing the effects, the lawsuit claimed, including nosebleeds, headaches and dizziness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
JLR moved to cancel the Chinese-built models in 2024 after years of headaches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
He contends that when hotels circulate synthetic fragrances through scent dispersion machines, they may be spreading toxic chemicals, potentially causing respiratory problems, headaches, skin irritation and gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and cognitive problems among vulnerable guests.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Some days he had headaches that, he said, "gave me a feeling as if I had been struck a light blow with a hammer."
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
