loggerhead

[law-ger-hed, log-er-]

noun

1. a thick-headed or stupid person; blockhead.

2. loggerhead turtle.

3. loggerhead shrike.

4. a ball or bulb of iron with a long handle, used, after being heated, to melt tar, heat liquids, etc.

5. a rounded post, in the stern of a whaleboat, around which the harpoon line is passed.

6. a circular inkwell having a broad, flat base.

loggerhead

/ ˈlɒɡəˌhɛd /

noun

1. Also called: loggerhead turtle. a large-headed turtle, Caretta caretta, occurring in most seas: family Chelonidae

2. a North American shrike, Lanius ludovicianus, having a grey head and body, black-and-white wings and tail, and black facial stripe

3. a tool consisting of a large metal sphere attached to a long handle, used for warming liquids, melting tar, etc

4. a strong round upright post in a whaleboat for belaying the line of a harpoon

5. archaic,  a blockhead; dunce

6. engaged in dispute or confrontation

Other Word Forms

• loggerheaded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of loggerhead¹

1580–90; logger block of wood (first attested alone in 18th century) + head

Word History and Origins

Origin of loggerhead¹

C16: probably from dialect logger wooden block + _head

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. at loggerheads, engaged in a disagreement or dispute; quarreling.

   They were at loggerheads over the distribution of funds.

Example Sentences

All species moved noticeably slower through sargassum sections, with loggerheads showing the greatest reduction in speed.

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Until recently, it remained unclear which of these two systems allows loggerhead hatchlings to determine where they are in the vast ocean, and the research team set out to investigate.

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Unusually for a party usually at loggerheads with Swiss agriculture, the left-wing Greens agreed, criticising the prospect of "American beef pumped full of hormones and cut-price chlorinated chicken" appearing on supermarket shelves.

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An impasse over Russian oil and imminent US sanctions has put Serbia at loggerheads with its traditional ally in Moscow.

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Pretoria and Washington have been at loggerheads for months over US allegations that the post-apartheid government persecutes the minority white population, including widely rejected claims of a "white genocide".

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Related Words

• tortoise