headdress

noun

head·​dress ˈhed-ˌdres How to pronounce headdress (audio)
: an often elaborate covering for the head

Illustration of headdress

Illustration of headdress

Examples of headdress in a Sentence

The dancers wore ceremonial headdresses. most of the acrobats riding the horses and elephants wore some sort of fancy headdress
Recent Examples on the Web The cover depicts a blond, fair-skinned man holding up a mask with the face of a Yanomami man in a feather headdress. Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024 Her tomb contained magnificent pieces including a headdress of gold leaves, necklaces, chokers, earrings, and ten rings, amongst many more examples crafted from precious metals and stones. Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024 Another showed her in a white headdress, tossing flower petals with an Afro-Brazilian society at a local street festival. Christopher F. Schuetze, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024 The process of choosing pieces, many featuring numerous elements — masks, clothing, drawings, headdresses, books, props — from so enduring and varied a career was a yearslong endeavor for the museum, a puzzle that needed solving by both Jonas and the show’s curator alike. Susan Dominus Emiliano Granado, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024 In costuming her, West used medieval references, particularly in her headdress. Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 In the 1960s, a man wearing a headdress rode the horse. Noreen Nasir, USA TODAY, 10 Feb. 2024 The kaffiyeh is a traditional Arab headdress that has come to symbolize solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Leo Sands, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2024 On a screen, images of Jonas in the garb of a belly dancer or wearing a headdress or various other costumes appear on a monitor fleetingly, seemingly trapped in squares that keep rolling downward, as if demanding those watching to be conscious of the effort of perception. Susan Dominus Emiliano Granado, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'headdress.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1645, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of headdress was in 1645

Dictionary Entries Near headdress

Cite this Entry

“Headdress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/headdress. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

headdress

noun
head·​dress ˈhed-ˌdres How to pronounce headdress (audio)
: a covering or ornament for the head

More from Merriam-Webster on headdress

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