headquarters

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head·quar·ters

(hĕd′kwôr′tərz)

pl.n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb)

1. The offices of a commander, as of a military unit, from which orders are issued.

2. A center of operations or administration: The company has its headquarters in the suburbs.

Usage Note: The noun headquarters can be used with either a singular or a plural verb. The plural is more common: The corporation's headquarters are in Boston. But when referring to authority rather than physical location, many people prefer the singular: Division headquarters has approved the new benefits package.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

headquarters

(ˌhɛdˈkwɔːtəz)

pl n (sometimes functioning as singular)

1. any centre or building from which operations are directed, as in the military, the police, etc

2. (Military) a military formation comprising the commander, his staff, and supporting echelons

Abbreviations: HQ or h.q.

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

head•quar•ters

(ˈhɛdˌkwɔr tərz, -ˌkwɔ-)

n., pl. -ters. (used with a sing. or pl. v.)

a center of operations, as of the police, a military commander, or a business, from which orders are issued.

[1640–50]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	headquarters - (usually plural) the office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise; "many companies have their headquarters in New York" central office, main office, home base, home office mukataa - an Arabic word for headquarters or administrative center; "Arafat was holed up in the mukataa of his West Bank compound" business office, office - place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed; "he rented an office in the new building" plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one
	2.	headquarters - the military installation from which a commander performs the functions of command; "the general's headquarters were a couple of large tents" HQ, military headquarters command post, general headquarters, GHQ - military headquarters from which a military commander controls and organizes the forces guardhouse - a military facility that serves as the headquarters for military police and in which military prisoners can be detained military installation - any facility servicing military forces plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker"
	3.	headquarters - (plural) a military unit consisting of a commander and the headquarters staff plural, plural form - the form of a word that is used to denote more than one ACLANT, Allied Command Atlantic - a major strategic headquarters of NATO located in the United States; is under the authority of the North Atlantic Council Allied Command Europe, ACE - a major strategic headquarters of NATO; safeguards an area extending from Norway to Turkey military force, military group, military unit, force - a unit that is part of some military service; "he sent Caesar a force of six thousand men" armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" headquarters staff - military staff stationed at headquarters

headquarters

plural noun head office, base, HQ, command post, nerve centre, mission control The building is the headquarters of the family firm.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

headquarters

noun

1. A center of organization, supply, or activity:

base, complex, station.

Military: installation.

2. A place of concentrated activity, influence, or importance:

center, focus, heart, hub, seat.

Translations

مَرْكِز القِيادَهمَقَرُ القِيَّادَة

centralquarter generalseu

hlavní stanústředí

hovedkvarter

Hauptquartier Zentrale

αρχηγείο

cuartel general sede sede central casa matriz central

päämaja

siège social QG quartier général siège

sjedište

höfuîstöîvar

quartier generale quartiere generale sede sede centrale

本社

본부

praetorium

hoofdkantoor

hovedkontor hovedkvarter

centralny zarząd

escritório central sede

штаб-квартира штаб

glavni štabsedež podjetja

huvudkontor

กองบัญชาการ

merkez karargâh

cơ quan đầu nãotổng hành dinhtrụ sởtrung tâm

司令部总部指挥部

headquarters

[ˈhedˈkwɔːtəz]

A. NPL (Mil) → cuartel msing general; (police etc) → jefatura fsing de policía; [of party, organization] → sede fsing (Comm) → oficina fsing central, central fsing

B. CPD headquarters staff N → plantilla fsing de la oficina central

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

headquarters

[ˌhɛdˈkwɔː^rtə^rz] npl

[business] → siège m, direction f (générale)

[campaign] → siège m

(MILITARY) → quartier m général

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

headquarters

[ˌhɛdˈkwɔːtəz] npl (Mil) → quartier msg generale; (of party, organization) → sede f centrale (Police) → centrale f

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

head

(hed) noun

1. the top part of the human body, containing the eyes, mouth, brain etc; the same part of an animal's body. The stone hit him on the head; He scratched his head in amazement.

2. a person's mind. An idea came into my head last night.

3. the height or length of a head. The horse won by a head.

4. the chief or most important person (of an organization, country etc). Kings and presidents are heads of state; (also adjective) a head waiter; the head office.

5. anything that is like a head in shape or position. the head of a pin; The boy knocked the heads off the flowers.

6. the place where a river, lake etc begins. the head of the Nile.

7. the top, or the top part, of anything. Write your address at the head of the paper; the head of the table.

8. the front part. He walked at the head of the procession.

9. a particular ability or tolerance. He has no head for heights; She has a good head for figures.

10. a headmaster or headmistress. You'd better ask the Head.

11. (for) one person. This dinner costs $10 a head.

12. a headland. Beachy Head.

13. the foam on the top of a glass of beer etc.

verb

1. to go at the front of or at the top of (something). The procession was headed by the band; Whose name headed the list?

2. to be in charge of; to be the leader of. He heads a team of scientists investigating cancer.

3. (often with for) to (cause to) move in a certain direction. The explorers headed south; The boys headed for home; You're heading for disaster!

4. to put or write something at the beginning of. His report was headed `Ways of Preventing Industrial Accidents'.

5. (in football) to hit the ball with the head. He headed the ball into the goal.

-headed

having (a certain number or type of) head(s). a two-headed monster; a bald-headed man.

ˈheader noun

1. a fall or dive forwards. He slipped and took a header into the mud.

2. (in football) the act of hitting the ball with the head. He scored with a great header.

ˈheading noun

what is written at the top of a page etc. The teacher said that essays must have a proper heading.

heads noun, adverb

(on) the side of a coin with the head of a king, president etc on it. He tossed the penny and it came down heads.

ˈheadache noun

1. a pain in the head. Bright lights give me a headache.

2. something worrying. Lack of money is a real headache.

ˈheadband noun

a strip of material worn round the head to keep one's hair off one's face.

ˈhead-dress noun

something, usually ornamental, which is worn on, and covers, the head. The tribesmen were wearing head-dresses of fur and feathers.

ˌheadˈfirst adverb

with one's head in front or bent forward. He fell headfirst into a pool of water.

ˈheadgear noun

anything that is worn on the head. Hats, caps and helmets are headgear.

ˈheadlamp noun

a headlight.

ˈheadland noun

a point of land which sticks out into the sea.

ˈheadlight noun

a powerful light at or on the front of a car, lorry, train, ship, aeroplane etc. As it was getting dark, the driver switched on his headlights.

ˈheadline noun

the words written in large letters at the top of newspaper articles. I never read a paper in detail – I just glance at the headlines.

ˈheadlines noun plural

a brief statement of the most important items of news, on television or radio. the news headlines.

ˈheadlong adjective, adverb

1. moving forwards or downwards, with one's head in front. a headlong dive into the pool of water; He fell headlong into a pool of water.

2. (done) without thought or delay, often foolishly. a headlong rush; He rushes headlong into disaster.

head louse

a type of louse that infests the human head.

headˈmaster – feminine headˈmistress – noun

the person in charge of a school; the principal.

ˌhead-ˈon adverb, adjective

(usually of cars etc) with the front of one car etc hitting the front of another car etc. a head-on collision; The two cars crashed head-on.

ˈheadphones noun plural

(also ˈearphones) a pair of electronic instruments held over a person's ears, by a metal band over the head, which are connected to a radio. a set of headphones.

ˌheadˈquarters noun singular or plural

(often abbreviated to HQ (eitʃˈkjuː) noun) the place from which the chief officers or leaders of an organization (especially an army) direct and control the activities of that organization. During the election, his house was used as the campaign headquarters.

ˈheadrest noun

a sort of small cushion which supports a person's head, eg as fitted to a dentist's chair, a car seat.

ˈheadscarf, ˈheadsquare nouns

a usually square scarf worn by women over or round the head.

ˈheadstone noun

a stone put at a grave, usually with the name of the dead person on it, the date of his birth and death etc.

ˈheadstrong adjective

(of people) difficult to persuade or control; always doing or wanting to do what they themselves want. a headstrong, obstinate child.

ˈheadwind noun

a wind which is blowing towards one.

above someone's head

too difficult (for someone) to understand. His lecture was well above their heads.

go to someone's head

1. (of alcohol) to make someone slightly drunk. Champagne always goes to my head.

2. (of praise, success etc) to make someone arrogant, foolish etc. Don't let success go to your head.

head off

1. to make (a person, animal etc) change direction. One group of the soldiers rode across the valley to head the bandits off.

2. to go in some direction. He headed off towards the river.

head over heels

1. completely. He fell head over heels in love.

2. turning over completely; headfirst. He fell head over heels into a pond.

heads or tails?

used when tossing a coin, eg to decide which of two people does, gets etc something. Heads or tails? Heads you do the dishes, tails I do them.

keep one's head

to remain calm and sensible in a crisis etc.

lose one's head

to become angry or excited, or to act foolishly in a crisis.

make head or tail of

to understand. I can't make head or tail of these instructions.

make headway

to make progress. We're not making much headway with this new scheme.

off one's head

mad. You must be off your head to work for nothing.

headquarters

→ مَقَرُ القِيَّادَة ústředí hovedkvarter Hauptquartier αρχηγείο cuartel general, sede central päämaja siège sjedište sede 本社 본부 hoofdkantoor hovedkvarter centralny zarząd escritório central, sede штаб-квартира huvudkontor กองบัญชาการ merkez cơ quan đầu não 总部

References in classic literature ?

Thereupon he hastened to Police Headquarters to report progress.

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I was conducted at once to headquarters and taken by motor-car to a certain fortified place which I will not specify, but which was at that time the headquarters of the German Staff.

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On October 11, the day when all was astir at headquarters over the news of Mack's defeat, the camp life of the officers of this squadron was proceeding as usual.

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For over a month I remained a prisoner there, working from morning until night at odd jobs about the headquarters building of the commanding officer.

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But even at headquarters I found difficulties; I perceived that there were things about the White Cap Corps which one member knew and another one didn't.

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He nevertheless continued his way to the headquarters, keeping to himself the observations which men and things forced him to make.

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"I have come over here in accordance with instructions received from headquarters - in fact from Scotland Yard."

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B., desiring to know when HE would be ready to go off by the Tremolino, or in any other way, in order to join the royal headquarters. Did he intend, she asked ironically, to wait for the very eve of the entry into Madrid?

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It may be that he is at headquarters. Many of the officers go there in the evening to receive orders."

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She gave one of her town houses for a Suffrage headquarters, produced one of her own plays at the Princess Theater, was arrested for picketing during a garment-makers' strike, etc.

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This was Fix, one of the detectives who had been dispatched from England in search of the bank robber; it was his task to narrowly watch every passenger who arrived at Suez, and to follow up all who seemed to be suspicious characters, or bore a resemblance to the description of the criminal, which he had received two days before from the police headquarters at London.

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It was precisely to confer on that matter with Dona Rita that Captain Blunt had been despatched from Headquarters.