Head vs. Face — What's the Difference?

The head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste, respectively. Some very simple animals may not have a head, but many bilaterally symmetric forms do, regardless of size.

The face is the front of an animal's head that features three of the head's sense organs, the eyes, nose, and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities affects the psyche adversely.

The upper part of the human body, or the front or upper part of the body of an animal, typically separated from the rest of the body by a neck, and containing the brain, mouth, and sense organs.

The front part of a person's head from the forehead to the chin, or the corresponding part in an animal

A thing resembling a head either in form or in relation to a whole.

The surface of a thing, especially one that is presented to the view or has a particular function.

The front, forward, or upper part or end of something.

A person of a particular type

A person in charge of something; a director or leader

Short for typeface

A person considered as a numerical unit

Be positioned with the face or front towards (someone or something)

A component in an audio, video, or information system by which information is transferred from an electrical signal to the recording medium, or vice versa.

Confront and deal with or accept

A body of water kept at a particular height in order to provide a supply at sufficient pressure

Cover the surface of (something) with a layer of a different material

A toilet on a ship or boat

The surface of the front of the head from the top of the forehead to the base of the chin and from ear to ear.

The word that governs all the other words in a phrase in which it is used, having the same grammatical function as the whole phrase.

A person

A superficial deposit of rock fragments, formed at the edge of an ice sheet by repeated freezing and thawing and then moved downhill.

A person's countenance

A group of pheasants

A contorted facial expression; a grimace

Chief; principal

A countenance of a certain complexion or form. Used in combination

Be in the leading position on

A person having such a countenance. Used in combination

Give a title or caption to

Facial makeup

Move in a specified direction

Facial makeup of a certain color, usually worn for the purpose of impersonating or mocking people of a particular racial or ethnic group. Used in combination

Shoot or pass (the ball) with the head

Assumed characteristics, such as clothing or behavior, intended to impersonate or mock people of a particular racial or ethnic group. Used in combination

Lop off the upper part or branches of (a plant or tree)

Outward appearance

(of a lettuce or cabbage) form a head.

Value or standing in the eyes of others; prestige

The uppermost or forwardmost part of the body of a vertebrate, containing the brain and the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and jaws.

Self-assurance; confidence

The analogous part of an invertebrate organism.

Effrontery; impudence

The length or height of such a part

The surface presented to view; the front.

The seat of the faculty of reason; intelligence, intellect, or mind

A façade.

Mental ability or aptitude

Outer surface

Freedom of choice or action

A marked side

A habitual drug user. Often used in combination

The right side, as of fabric.

An enthusiast. Often used in combination

An exposed, often precipitous surface of rock.

A person considered foolish or contemptible. Often used in combination

A planar surface of a geometric solid.

A portrait or representation of a person's head.

Any of the surfaces of a rock or crystal.

Often heads (used with a sing. verb) The side of a coin having the principal design, often the profile of a political leader's head.

The end, as of a mine or tunnel, at which work is advancing.

(Informal) A headache

The appearance and geologic surface features of an area of land; topography.

An individual; a person

A typeface or range of typefaces.

Pl. head A single animal

The raised printing surface of a piece of type.

A person who leads, rules, or is in charge; a leader, chief, or director

To occupy a position with the face toward

A headmaster or headmistress.

To front on

The foremost or leading position

To meet or confront with self-assurance

A headwaiter.

To acknowledge and accept or deal with

The difference in depth of a liquid at two given points.

To be certain to encounter; have in store

The measure of pressure at the lower point expressed in terms of this difference.

To bring or to be brought face to face with

The pressure exerted by a liquid or gas

To cause (troops) to change direction by giving a command.

The liquid or gas exerting the pressure.

(Games) To turn (a playing card) so that the face is up.

The froth or foam that rises to the top in pouring an effervescent liquid, such as beer.

To furnish with a surface or cover of a different material

The tip of an abscess, boil, or pimple, in which pus forms.

To line or trim the edge of, especially with contrasting material

A turning point; a crisis

To treat the surface of so as to smooth.

A projection, weight, or fixture at the end of an elongated object

To be turned or placed with the front toward a specified direction.

The working end of a tool or implement

To turn the face in a specified direction.

The looped part at the end a lacrosse stick, to which the webbing is attached.

(anatomy) The front part of the head of a human or other animal, featuring the eyes, nose, and mouth, and the surrounding area.

The part of an explosive device that carries the explosive; a warhead.

One's facial expression.

The part of a stringed instrument where the strings are wound; a tuning head.

(in expressions such as 'make a face') A distorted facial expression; an expression of displeasure, insult, etc.

A tuning machine.

Image; outward appearance.

The rounded proximal end of a long bone

The frontal aspect of something.

The end of a muscle that is attached to the less movable part of the skeleton.

An aspect of the character or nature of someone or something.

An attachment to or part of a machine that holds or contains the operative device.

(figurative) presence; sight; front.

The magnetic head of a tape recorder or VCR.

The directed force of something.

The device in a magnetic disk or tape drive that enables it to read data from and write data to the disk or tape.

Reputation; standing, in the eyes of others; dignity; prestige. (See lose face, save face).

A rounded compact mass, as of leaves or buds

Confidence; boldness; effrontery.

(Botany) A flower head.

Any surface, especially a front or outer one.

The uppermost part; the top

(geometry) Any of the flat bounding surfaces of a polyhedron; more generally, any of the bounding pieces of a polytope of any dimension.

The end considered the most important

The numbered dial of a clock or watch; the clock face.

Either end of an object, such as a drum, whose two ends are interchangeable.

(slang) The mouth.

The forward part of a vessel.

(slang) makeup; one's complete facial cosmetic application.

The top part or upper edge of a sail.

(metonymically) A person; the self; oneself.

A toilet, especially on a ship.

(informal) A familiar or well-known person; a member of a particular scene, such as the music or fashion scene.

A passage or gallery in a coal mine.

A headlining wrestler with a persona embodying heroic or virtuous traits and who is regarded as a "good guy", especially one who is handsome and well-conditioned; a baby face.

The top of a book or page.

(cricket) The front surface of a bat.

A headline or heading.

(golf) The part of a golf club that hits the ball.

A distinct topic or category

(cards) The side of the card that shows its value (as opposed to the back side, which looks the same on all cards of the deck).

Headway; progress.

(heraldry) The head of a lion, shown face-on and cut off immediately behind the ears.

(Linguistics) The word determining the grammatical category of a constituent, often establishing relations of concord or agreement (such as subject-verb agreement) with other constituents.

The width of a pulley, or the length of a cog from end to end.

Vulgar Slang Oral sex.

(typography) A typeface.

Of, relating to, or intended for the head. Often used in combination

A mode of regard, whether favourable or unfavourable; favour or anger.

Foremost in rank or importance

(informal) The amount expressed on a bill, note, bond, etc., without any interest or discount; face value.

Placed at the top or the front

To position oneself or itself so as to have one's face closest to (something).

(Slang) Of, relating to, or for drugs or drug users.

To have its front closest to, or in the direction of (something else).

To be in charge of; lead

(transitive) To cause (something) to turn or present a face or front, as in a particular direction.

To be in the first or foremost position of

(transitive) To be presented or confronted with; to have in prospect.

To aim, point, or turn in a certain direction

(transitive) To deal with (a difficult situation or person); to accept (facts, reality, etc.) even when undesirable.

To remove the head or top of.

(intransitive) To have the front in a certain direction.

(Sports) To hit (a soccer ball) in the air with one's head.

(transitive) To have as an opponent.

To provide with a head

To be the batsman on strike.

To proceed or go in a certain direction

To confront impudently; to bully.

To form a head, as lettuce or cabbage.

(transitive) To cover in front, for ornament, protection, etc.; to put a facing upon.

To originate, as a stream or river; rise.

(transitive) To line near the edge, especially with a different material.

(countable) The part of the body of an animal or human which contains the brain, mouth, and main sense organs.

To cover with better, or better appearing, material than the mass consists of, for purpose of deception, as the surface of a box of tea, a barrel of sugar, etc.

(people) To do with heads.

(engineering) To make the surface of (anything) flat or smooth; to dress the face of (a stone, a casting, etc.); especially, in turning, to shape or smooth the flat (transverse) surface of, as distinguished from the cylindrical (axial) surface.

(animals) To do with heads.

To arrange the products in (a store) so that they are tidy and attractive.

(countable) The topmost, foremost, or leading part.

The exterior form or appearance of anything; that part which presents itself to the view; especially, the front or upper part or surface; that which particularly offers itself to the view of a spectator.

The end of a table.

That part of a body, having several sides, which may be seen from one point, or which is presented toward a certain direction; one of the bounding planes of a solid; as, a cube has six faces.

(countable) The principal operative part of a machine or tool.

The principal dressed surface of a plate, disk, or pulley; the principal flat surface of a part or object.

The foam that forms on top of beer or other carbonated beverages.

The upper surface, or the character upon the surface, of a type, plate, etc.

(engineering) The end cap of a cylindrically-shaped pressure vessel.

Outside appearance; surface show; look; external aspect, whether natural, assumed, or acquired.

(coopering) The end cap of a cask or other barrel.

That part of the head, esp. of man, in which the eyes, cheeks, nose, and mouth are situated; visage; countenance.

(geology) The uppermost part of a valley.

Cast of features; expression of countenance; look; air; appearance.

Deposits near the top of a geological succession.

Ten degrees in extent of a sign of the zodiac.

(journalism) headline

Maintenance of the countenance free from abashment or confusion; confidence; boldness; shamelessness; effrontery.

(medicine) The end of an abscess where pus collects.

Presence; sight; front; as in the phrases, before the face of, in the immediate presence of; in the face of, before, in, or against the front of; as, to fly in the face of danger; to the face of, directly to; from the face of, from the presence of.

(music) The headstock of a guitar.

Mode of regard, whether favorable or unfavorable; favor or anger; mostly in Scriptural phrases.

(nautical) A leading component.

The end or wall of the tunnel, drift, or excavation, at which work is progressing or was last done.

(British) A headland.

The exact amount expressed on a bill, note, bond, or other mercantile paper, without any addition for interest or reduction for discount; most commonly called face value.

A leader or expert.

To meet in front; to oppose with firmness; to resist, or to meet for the purpose of stopping or opposing; to confront; to encounter; as, to face an enemy in the field of battle.

The place of honour, or of command; the most important or foremost position; the front.

To Confront impudently; to bully.

(metonymy) Leader; chief; mastermind.

To stand opposite to; to stand with the face or front toward; to front upon; as, the apartments of the general faced the park; some of the seats on the train faced backward.

(metonymy) A headmaster or headmistress.

To cover in front, for ornament, protection, etc.; to put a facing upon; as, a building faced with marble.

A person with an extensive knowledge of hip hop.

To line near the edge, esp. with a different material; as, to face the front of a coat, or the bottom of a dress.

A significant or important part.

To cover with better, or better appearing, material than the mass consists of, for purpose of deception, as the surface of a box of tea, a barrel of sugar, etc.

A beginning or end, a protuberance.

To make the surface of (anything) flat or smooth; to dress the face of (a stone, a casting, etc.); esp., in turning, to shape or smooth the flat surface of, as distinguished from the cylindrical surface.

A component.

To cause to turn or present a face or front, as in a particular direction.

Headway; progress.

To carry a false appearance; to play the hypocrite.

Topic; subject.

To turn the face; as, to face to the right or left.

Denouement; crisis.

To present a face or front.

(fluid dynamics) Pressure and energy.

The front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear;

A buildup of fluid pressure, often quantified as pressure head.

The expression on a person's face;

The difference in elevation between two points in a column of fluid, and the resulting pressure of the fluid at the lower point.

The general outward appearance of something;

More generally, energy in a mass of fluid divided by its weight.

The act of confronting bravely;

Fellatio or cunnilingus; oral sex.

The striking or working surface of an implement

(slang) The glans penis.

A part of a person that is used to refer to a person;

A heavy or habitual user of illicit drugs.

A surface forming part of the outside of an object;

(obsolete) Power; armed force.

The part of an animal corresponding to the human face

Of, relating to, or intended for the head.

The side upon which the use of a thing depends (usually the most prominent surface of an object);

Foremost in rank or importance.

A contorted facial expression;

Placed at the top or the front.

A specific size and style of type within a type family

Coming from in front.

Status in the eyes of others;

(transitive) To be in command of. (See also head up.)

Impudent aggressiveness;

(transitive) To come at the beginning or front of; to commence.

A vertical surface of a building or cliff

(transitive) To strike with the head; as in soccer, to head the ball

Deal with (something unpleasant) head on;

(intransitive) To move in a specified direction.

Oppose, as in hostility or a competition;

(fishing) To remove the head from a fish.

Be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to another reference point; be opposite to;

(intransitive) To originate; to spring; to have its course, as a river.

Be opposite;

(intransitive) To form a head.

Turn so as to face; turn the face in a certain direction;

(transitive) To form a head to; to fit or furnish with a head.

Present somebody with something, usually to accuse or criticize;

(transitive) To cut off the top of; to lop off.

Turn so as to expose the face;

To behead; to decapitate.

Line the edge (of a garment) with a different material;

To go in front of.

Cover the front or surface of;

To get in the front of, so as to hinder or stop; to oppose.

(by extension) To check or restrain.

To set on the head.

The anterior or superior part of an animal, containing the brain, or chief ganglia of the nervous system, the mouth, and in the higher animals, the chief sensory organs; poll; cephalon.

The uppermost, foremost, or most important part of an inanimate object; such a part as may be considered to resemble the head of an animal; often, also, the larger, thicker, or heavier part or extremity, in distinction from the smaller or thinner part, or from the point or edge; as, the head of a cane, a nail, a spear, an ax, a mast, a sail, a ship; that which covers and closes the top or the end of a hollow vessel; as, the head of a cask or a steam boiler.

The place where the head should go; as, the head of a bed, of a grave, etc.; the head of a carriage, that is, the hood which covers the head.

The most prominent or important member of any organized body; the chief; the leader; as, the head of a college, a school, a church, a state, and the like.

The place or honor, or of command; the most important or foremost position; the front; as, the head of the table; the head of a column of soldiers.

Each one among many; an individual; - often used in a plural sense; as, a thousand head of cattle.

The seat of the intellect; the brain; the understanding; the mental faculties; as, a good head, that is, a good mind; it never entered his head, it did not occur to him; of his own head, of his own thought or will.

The source, fountain, spring, or beginning, as of a stream or river; as, the head of the Nile; hence, the altitude of the source, or the height of the surface, as of water, above a given place, as above an orifice at which it issues, and the pressure resulting from the height or from motion; sometimes also, the quantity in reserve; as, a mill or reservoir has a good head of water, or ten feet head; also, that part of a gulf or bay most remote from the outlet or the sea.

A headland; a promontory; as, Gay Head.

A separate part, or topic, of a discourse; a theme to be expanded; a subdivision; as, the heads of a sermon.

Culminating point or crisis; hence, strength; force; height.

Power; armed force.

A headdress; a covering of the head; as, a laced head; a head of hair.

An ear of wheat, barley, or of one of the other small cereals.

A dense cluster of flowers, as in clover, daisies, thistles; a capitulum.

The antlers of a deer.

A rounded mass of foam which rises on a pot of beer or other effervescing liquor.

Tiles laid at the eaves of a house.

Principal; chief; leading; first; as, the head master of a school; the head man of a tribe; a head chorister; a head cook.

To be at the head of; to put one's self at the head of; to lead; to direct; to act as leader to; as, to head an army, an expedition, or a riot.

To form a head to; to fit or furnish with a head; as, to head a nail.

To behead; to decapitate.

To cut off the top of; to lop off; as, to head trees.

To go in front of; to get in the front of, so as to hinder or stop; to oppose; hence, to check or restrain; as, to head a drove of cattle; to head a person; the wind heads a ship.

To set on the head; as, to head a cask.

To originate; to spring; to have its source, as a river.

To go or point in a certain direction; to tend; as, how does the ship head?

To form a head; as, this kind of cabbage heads early.

The upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains;

A single domestic animal;

That which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason;

A person who is in charge;

The front of a military formation or procession;

The pressure exerted by a fluid;

The top of something;

The source of water from which a stream arises;

(grammar) the word in a grammatical constituent that plays the same grammatical role as the whole constituent

The tip of an abscess (where the pus accumulates)

The length or height based on the size of a human or animal head;

A dense clusters of flowers or foliage;

The educator who has executive authority for a school;

An individual person;

A user of (usually soft) drugs;

A rounded compact mass;

The foam or froth that accumulates at the top when you pour an effervescent liquid into a container;

The part in the front or nearest the viewer;

A difficult juncture;

Forward movement;

A V-shaped mark at one end of an arrow pointer;

The subject matter at issue;

A line of text serving to indicate what the passage below it is about;

The rounded end of a bone that bits into a rounded cavity in another bone to form a joint;

That part of a skeletal muscle that is away from the bone that it moves

(computer science) a tiny electromagnetic coil and metal pole used to write and read magnetic patterns on a disk

(usually plural) an obverse side of a coin that bears the representation of a person's head;

The striking part of a tool;

(nautical) a toilet on board a boat or ship

A projection out from one end;

A membrane that is stretched taut over a drum

Oral-genital stimulation;

To go or travel towards;

Be in charge of;

Travel in front of; go in advance of others;

Be the first or leading member of (a group) and excel;

Direct the course; determine the direction of travelling

Take its rise;

Be in the front of or on top of;

Form a head or come or grow to a head;

Remove the head of;