Word.ws English Dictionary

header

UK/ˈhɛdə//ˈhɛdɚ/

header noun: the upper portion of a page (or other) layout. Also the clipping of header file.

header: the upper portion of a page (or other) layout
Image: Eric B, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

header (plural headers)

  1. The upper portion of a page (or other) layout.
    • If you reduce the header of this document, the body will fit onto a single page.
  2. Text, or other visual information, used to mark off a quantity of text, often titling or summarizing it.
    • Your header is too long; "Local Cannibals" will suffice.
    Synonyms:
    head, heading
  3. Text, or other visual information, that goes at the top of a column of information in a table.
    • That column should have the header "payment status".
  4. (informal) A font, text style, or typesetting used for any of the above.
    • Parts of speech belong in a level-three header. Level-two headers are reserved for the name of the language.
  5. The first part of a file or record that describes its contents.
    • The header includes an index, an identifier, and a pointer to the next entry.
  6. the first part of a packet or stream, often containing its address and descriptors.
    • The encapsulation layer adds an eight-byte header and a two-byte trailer to each packet.
  7. A brick that is laid sideways (on its largest face), for example at the top of a wall or within the brickwork, with its smallest side showing (oriented so that that side is wider than it is tall).
    • This wall has four header courses.
    Synonyms:
    bonder, coping, cope
  8. A horizontal structural or finish piece over an opening.
    Synonyms:
    lintel
  9. A machine that separates and gathers the heads of grain etc.
    • They fed the bale into the header.
  10. The act of hitting the ball with the head.
    • His header for the goal followed a perfect corner kick.
    • The Black Cats had a mountain to climb after James Morrison's header and Shane Long's neat side-foot finish gave Albion a 2-0 lead five minutes in.2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport
  11. Someone who heads the ball.
  12. A headlong fall, jump or dive.
    • The clown tripped over the other clown and took a header.
    • "When the rest are in, you see one or two shiverin' on the bank, envyin' the others that have taken the plunge. It's the last that have the worst of it. I'm all for a header and have done with it."1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC
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  1. A raised tank that supplies water at constant pressure, especially to a central heating and hot water system; a header tank.
  2. A pipe which connects several smaller pipes.
    • Common practice is to use plastic pipes with iron headers.
  3. The rodeo performer who drives the steer toward the heeler to be tied.
  4. One who puts a head on something.
  5. (Ireland, derogatory) A headcase; a nutjob (mentally unbalanced, unpredictable person).

Verb

header (third-person singular simple present headers, present participle headering, simple past and past participle headered)

  1. (transitive) To strike (a ball) with one's head.

Also used as

header is also the clipping of header file.

header meaning in Arabic, Malay and Indonesian

header in Arabic

soccer: act of hitting the ball with the head
رَأْسِيَّة raʔsiyya

header in Malay

upper portion of a page layout
pengepala
computing: the first part of a file or record that describes its contents
pengepala

header in Indonesian

upper portion of a page layout
tajukan, kop
computing: the first part of a file or record that describes its contents
tajukan, kop
soccer: act of hitting the ball with the head
sundul

Examples of header in a sentence

  • He bulleted a header for his first score of the season.
  • The grid column header displays a sort glyph indicating an ascending or descending ordering.
  • The encapsulation layer adds an eight-byte header and a two-byte trailer to each packet.

All 40 example sentences with header

Synonyms of header

All synonyms of header

Forms of header

Noun
pluralheaders
alternative abbreviationhdr
Verb
third-person singular presentheaders
present participleheadering
past participleheadered
pastheadered

Plural of header: headers

Origin of header

From head + -er.

Words formed from header

Phrases with header

Words that rhyme with header

Questions about header

What does header mean?
Header means the upper portion of a page (or other) layout.
What is header in Arabic?
Header in Arabic is رَأْسِيَّة (raʔsiyya). See Header meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is header?
Header can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce header?
Header is pronounced /ˈhɛdɚ/ (US).
What is the plural of header?
The plural of header is headers.

Words near header in the dictionary

  1. headend
  2. headender
  3. headenders
  4. headends
  5. Headens
  6. header
  7. header file
  8. header files
  9. header guard
  10. header guards
  11. header tank

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: header (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-us-header.ogg.

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