headspace
/ˈhɛdspeɪs/
headspace noun: the space between the top of the contents of a container (such as a jar) and its seal (such as a lid).
Noun
headspace (countable and uncountable, plural headspaces)
- The space between the top of the contents of a container (such as a jar) and its seal (such as a lid).
- Control of headspace is important for economic and technical reasons. Underfilling will contravene Weights and Measures legislation and may cause rusting in the headspace […]1997, S. D. Holdsworth, “Food Preservation Processes”, in M. D. Ranken, R. C. Kill, C. Baker, editors, Food Industries Manual, 24th edition, Blackie Academic and Professional, →ISBN, page 517
- One's capacity for mental activity modeled as a physical space with limits.
- Meronym: mindshare
- It's like, I need to clear my headspace but I can't do that with him around because he's just ego, you know? He dumps on me. So that's it.1996, Andrew Cowan, Common Ground
- Synonyms:
- brainspace
- One's mental state or state of mind.
- Many of us, as gays, have been in the same headspace as Maurice: longing, lonely, and scared.1971, Herb Spiers, “Maurice (review)”, in Body Politic, number 1, page 12
- A time and opportunity for reflection and thinking.
- As a business owner, a truly effective business owner that is building a profitable business machine, you need headspace, thinking time, planning time, brainstorming time, education time, decision making time, questioning time and more thinking time.2011, Eric J. Gregory, Would You Like Profits, →ISBN
- The gap between the face of the bolt and the stopping surface for the cartridge.
- The gas phase in contact and in equilibrium with a nonvolatile liquid in a sample.
- A place within a person (singlet or multiple) that they can visit or inhabit.
- Synonyms:
- innerworld, mindscape, wonderland
Verb
headspace (third-person singular simple present headspaces, present participle headspacing, simple past and past participle headspaced)
- To occupy a headspace.
Synonyms of headspace
Forms of headspace
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | headspaces |
| alternative form | head space |
| alternative form | head-space |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | headspaces |
| present participle | headspacing |
| past participle | headspaced |
| past | headspaced |
Origin of headspace
From head + space.
Questions about headspace
- What does headspace mean?
- Headspace means the space between the top of the contents of a container (such as a jar) and its seal (such as a lid).
- What part of speech is headspace?
- Headspace can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce headspace?
- Headspace is pronounced /ˈhɛdspeɪs/.
- What is the plural of headspace?
- The plural of headspace is headspaces.
Words near headspace in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: headspace (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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-headspace.wav.
Cite this entry: “headspace.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/headspace. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.