Word.ws English Dictionary

head scratcher

head scratcher is the alternative form of head-scratcher.

Meaning of head-scratcher

Noun

head-scratcher (plural head-scratchers)

  1. (figuratively, informal) Something particularly puzzling or confusing.
    • Golden Globes nominations a head-scratcher2007 December, “Golden Globes nominations a head-scratcher”, in Daily News Tribune
  2. (literally) A device used to scratch the head.
    • Her aunt's husband or her grandfather brings a head scratcher. "If the maid scratched her hair or body with her fingers during these days of observance, her hair would fall out."2004, Kelley Hays-Gilpin, Ambiguous Images: Gender and Rock Art, →ISBN, page 133

Forms of head scratcher

pluralhead scratchers

Questions about head scratcher

What is head scratcher the alternative form of?
Head scratcher is the alternative form of head-scratcher.

Words near head scratcher in the dictionary

  1. head rolls
  2. head rush
  3. head rushes
  4. head scarf
  5. head scarves
  6. head scratcher
  7. head scratchers
  8. head scratching
  9. head scratchings
  10. head sea
  11. head seas

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: head scratcher (page history and authors); head-scratcher (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-head scratcher.ogg.

Cite this entry: “head scratcher.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/head_scratcher. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.