headhunting

American  

[hed-huhn-ting] / ˈhɛdˌhʌn tɪŋ /

noun

1. (among certain primitive peoples) the practice of hunting down and decapitating victims and preserving their heads as trophies.

2. the act or practice of actively searching for new employees, especially for professionals or executives.

   Every June the electronics manufacturers go headhunting among the newly graduated engineers.

3. the act or practice of firing without cause, especially someone disliked.

   Their periodic headhunting was a contributing factor in the company's failures.

4. the act or practice of trying to destroy the power, position, or influence of one's competitors or foes.

   Headhunting is ferocious in advertising.

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Etymology

Origin of headhunting

First recorded in 1850–55; head + hunting

Example Sentences

A Northern California headhunting firm was hired last month conduct a nationwide search for the city’s next top cop, a process that is expected to last through August.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2024

Those expat executives willing to relocate to the kingdom from neighboring Dubai, United Arab Emirates, can ask for 20% to 35% extra, according to headhunting firm Mark Williams.

From Seattle Times • May 7, 2023

Several headhunting firms offered her opportunities, but she settled on an American company based in China.

From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2022

The firm said on Sunday it would work with a headhunting firm to find a new CEO and did not set a timetable for the process.

From Reuters • Aug. 12, 2022

The quality of statesmanship in Wood which dealt with these problems and settled them so that from a slave-holding, polygamous, headhunting land there arose a self-governing community is of the highest order.

From The Career of Leonard Wood by Sears, Joseph Hamblen