heads

heads — noun

1. the face of a coin that shows the image of a person — used when two people flip

1.名詞B1
釋義

the face of a coin that shows the image of a person — used when two people flip a coin and one of them guesses which face will land facing up.

例句

Felix tossed the coin into the air and shouted 'heads!' before it landed.

imperative-style call: 'heads!' in coin-toss context

The referee asked the two captains to call heads or tails before the match.

fixed pair: 'heads or tails' as the standard choice

同義詞
  • obverse

    technical or numismatic term; rare in everyday speech

反義詞
  • tails

    the opposite side of the coin in a coin-toss

文法句型

call heads or tails

heads (it) is

用法筆記

Often takes a singular verb even though the form ends in -s, as in 'heads is the side with the queen'. Distinguish from sense 2 (toilet) and from the plural of 'head' meaning body part.

常見錯誤

❌I choose the head.' (when calling a coin toss)
✅I choose heads.
💡the -s form is fixed for the coin-side meaning.
❌Heads are facing up.
✅Heads is facing up.
💡this sense usually takes a singular verb.

2. the toilet on a boat or ship — a fixed plural form used by sailors and people wh

2.名詞C1
釋義

the toilet on a boat or ship — a fixed plural form used by sailors and people who live on boats, even when there is only one such room on board.

例句

Noor asked the captain where the heads were before they left the dock.

plural verb agreement: 'the heads were'

The old fishing boat had a tiny heads at the front, just behind the anchor locker.

singular sense despite plural form

同義詞
  • toilet

    general everyday word; use this on land

  • bathroom

    common American word for the same room on land

文法句型

the heads

go to the heads

用法筆記

Only used in nautical or boating contexts. On land, learners should say 'toilet', 'bathroom', or 'restroom'. The form stays as 'heads' even for one toilet — using 'head' here would sound unnatural to sailors.

常見錯誤

❌I need to find the head on the ferry.
✅I need to find the heads on the ferry.
💡the -s is fixed in nautical use, even for a single toilet.
❌The hotel heads are clean.
✅The hotel bathrooms are clean.
💡this sense only works on boats.

3. a way of counting people in a group, where each person equals one — used mainly

3.名詞B2
釋義

a way of counting people in a group, where each person equals one — used mainly when booking tickets, dividing a bill, or checking that everyone is present.

例句

Minho counted heads on the bus and noticed two students were missing.

'count heads' — the standard verb collocation

The campsite charges twenty dollars for three heads, no matter how big the tent is.

'[number] heads' for pricing per person

同義詞
  • people

    neutral everyday word; less informal

  • attendees

    formal, used for organized events

文法句型

count heads

[number] heads

per heads

用法筆記

Mostly used in casual speech and only when counting people, not animals. The grammatical singular 'head' also exists ('twenty dollars a head'), but 'heads' is preferred when the focus is on the act of counting.

常見錯誤

❌I counted the heads of the cows.' (for animals)
✅I counted the cows.
💡'heads' for counting is mostly used for people.
❌How many head are coming to dinner?
✅How many heads are coming to dinner?
💡use the plural -s when asking about people.