headlong

[hed-lawng, -long]

adverb

1. with the head foremost; headfirst.

   to plunge headlong into the water.

2. without delay; hastily.

   to plunge headlong into work.

3. without deliberation; rashly.

   to rush headlong into battle.

adjective

1. undertaken quickly and suddenly; made precipitately; hasty.

   a headlong flight.

2. rash; impetuous.

   a headlong denunciation.

3. done or going with the head foremost.

   a headlong dive into the pool.

headlong

/ ˈhɛdˌlɒŋ /

adverb

1. with the head foremost; headfirst

2. with great haste

adjective

1. archaic,  (of slopes, etc) very steep; precipitous

Other Word Forms

• headlongness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of headlong¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English hedlong, earlier hedling; head, -ling ²

Example Sentences

Ireland hosts one of the world's fast-growing clusters of data centres, but is running headlong into the difficult consequences.

Read more on Barron's

There they crashed headlong into the source of the bellowing: a tall woman in a fur cape, who now lay sprawled on the floor with three orange-splattered ghosts hovering above her.

Read more on Literature

Certainly no one of good sense would sail headlong into the whirling, tornado-like temper of Lady Constance Ashton, if it could be helped.

Read more on Literature

A selloff that thrashed U.S. stocks and extended into international markets ran headlong Friday into one of the most powerful forces in America’s multiyear rally.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Both Liberty Energy and ProPetro, best known for their expertise in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, have jumped headlong into the data- center game.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• breakneck 
• hurried 
• sudden