bighead

American  

[big-hed, -hed] / ˈbɪgˈhɛd, -ˌhɛd /

noun

1. Informal. an excessive estimate of one's importance; conceit.

2. Veterinary Pathology.

   1. an inflammatory swelling of the tissues of the head of sheep, caused by the anaerobic bacillus Clostridium novyi.

   2. enlargement of the head and jawbones of horses resulting from nutritional hyperthyroidism.

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bighead British  

/ ˈbɪɡˌhɛd /

noun

1. informal a conceited person

2. informal conceit; egotism

3. vet science

   1. an abnormal bulging or increase in the size of an animal's skull, as from osteomalacia

   2. any of various diseases of sheep characterized by swelling of the head, esp any caused by infection with Clostridium bacteria

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Other Word Forms

• bigheaded
  adjective
• bigheadedly
  adverb
• bigheadedness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of bighead

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805; big ¹ + head

Example Sentences

His medley of El Apagón and Después De La Playa was enhanced with pyrotechnics, dozens of dancers and a troop of cabezudos, the "bighead" puppets that march down the streets of San Juan every January.

From BBC • Feb. 5, 2023

Voracious and aggressive, silver and bighead gobble plankton that other fish need.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 14, 2021

He called the research "data-driven and robust," and that it fills an important knowledge gap in how a proliferation of bighead and silver carp could alter the world's largest freshwater ecosystem.

From Scientific American • Jul. 8, 2020

The moniker includes four fish imported from China starting in the 1960s — grass carp, black carp, silver carp, and bighead carp.

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2020

On some farms and in some stables bighead is quite prevalent, a number of cases following one after another.

From Special Report on Diseases of the Horse by Michener, Charles B.