noun
-
a person with red hair
-
a diving duck, Aythya americana , of North America, the male of which has a grey-and-black body and a reddish-brown head
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of redhead
Compare meaning
How does redhead compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A redhead is a person with red hair. Although sometimes it looks more like orange, “orangehead” isn’t a thing. Only about one percent of the entire population is a real redhead. In England, a redhead is “ginger” haired. Redheads come in many different varieties, from bright red dyed hair to coppery auburn and strawberry blond. Many natural redheads have pale skin that burns easily in the sun and light-colored eyes. The word redhead has been used to mean someone with red hair since at least the 13th century. Even today, kids are sometimes teased for being redheads, but in the Middle Ages, red hair could mark you as a witch or a vampire.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
There was Molly Hollis, a middle-aged, Midwestern former schoolteacher whose creation required body padding and a wig; a flamboyant redhead; a nearly invisible elderly woman; and, most uncannily, Reichl’s own mother.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026
And so they all knew me as a blond and I thought, “Oh my gosh, I hope they’re going to be OK with this character being a redhead because in their minds I’m not that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Like many other North Korean prisoners, Mr Ahn too was labelled a "redhead", a reference to his communist sympathies, and he struggled to find a proper job.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2025
Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge protects migratory waterfowl, in particular redhead ducks.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 10, 2024
Laia has returned to the dance stage and is watching the redhead walk away from her.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Like many redheads Hunter said he has experienced bullying over his unusual hair colour.
From Reuters ● Aug. 27, 2023
The 1950s-kitsch dining room at Ogie’s Trailer Park in Providence, R.I., was packed on a Saturday afternoon this month with dozens of loud redheads nursing froufrou cocktails and cha-cha-ing around in platform wedges.
From New York Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
“He told me he was a fellow redhead, and us redheads have to stick together. I thought it was crazy that Vin Scully walked into the clubhouse to find me, and say hi to me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2022
“Since redheads are often more vulnerable than most to the sun’s rays, we’re giving them shelter from the sun inside our fully air conditioned cinema screens,” Showcase said in a statement.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 18, 2022
Maya stood out in every single photo, the one brunette in a family of redheads, her smile getting less and less full over the years.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
