header

American  

[hed-er] / ˈhɛd ər /

noun

• headers
  plural

1. a person or thing that removes or puts a head on something.

2. a reaping machine that cuts off and gathers only the heads of the grain.

3. a chamber to which the ends of a number of tubes are connected so that water or steam may pass freely from one tube to the other.

4. Automotive. an exhaust manifold.

5. Building Trades.

   1. a brick or stone laid in a wall or the like so that its shorter ends are exposed or parallel to the surface.

   2. a framing member crossing and supporting the ends of joists, studs, or rafters so as to transfer their weight to parallel joists, studs, or rafters.

6. Informal. a plunge or dive headfirst, as into water.

   He stumbled and took a header into the ditch.

7. Soccer. a pass or shot made by heading the ball.

8. a sign that is part of or attached to the top of a rack displaying merchandise.

9. Computers. a line of information placed at the top of a page for purposes of identification.

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header British  

/ ˈhɛdə /

noun

1. Also called: header tank.  a reservoir, tank, or hopper that maintains a gravity feed or a static fluid pressure in an apparatus

2. a manifold for distributing a fluid supply amongst a number of passages

3. a machine that trims the heads from castings, forgings, etc, or one that forms heads, as in wire, to make nails

4. a person who operates such a machine

5. a brick or stone laid across a wall so that its end is flush with the outer surface Compare stretcher

6. the action of striking a ball with the head

7. informal a headlong fall or dive

8. computing

   1. a block of data on a tape or disk providing information about the size, location, etc, of a file

   2. ( as modifier )

      header card

      header label

9. dialect a mentally unbalanced person

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• headers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of header

First recorded in 1400–50, header is from the late Middle English word heder. See head, -er ¹

Explanation

A header is a separate bit of text at the top of a printed page. A header might be the title of the novel you're reading, which is repeated on each page of the book. One kind of header — also called a "page header" — is a chapter title, which is often printed at the top of every page. It's called a header because it's printed at the top, or head, of the page. When you format a long paper for school, you may include page numbers as headers. In any case, a header is set apart from the main text of a document and is sometimes printed in a larger or bolder font.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

header headers

The header image was an upside-down pink triangle surrounded by a red “no” symbol.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

Florian Wirtz: Constantly posed a threat and unlucky not to score, having had a neat finish ruled out as Frimpong was offside and a solid header tipped over by Matz Sels.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

No wonder Jaissle clenched his fists on the touchline after Hornicek got a strong hand behind Jan Paul van Hecke's header.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Andy Robertson: Carried a threat going forward in the first half but could not prevent Dedic winning a header to set up Elanga's goal.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Nothing was more important to my father than to get through the header and prove the Captain right.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Bosnia and Herzegovina defender Nikola Katic, back, and Switzerland midfielder Remo Freuler headers the ball.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026

Doctors used to worry almost exclusively about concussions, but most headers don’t produce a concussion diagnosis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

For 13- and 14-year-olds, heading practice is limited to 30 minutes a week, with no more than 20 headers a player.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Then, as Japan pressed late on, it was Van Dijk who almost saw out the win with a succession of towering headers.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

Mr. McDuff had built it back with posts as thick as telephone poles and crossbeams that could have been used as headers in the mine.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Related Words

• dunk