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head has 38 distinct synonyms spread across 21 of its 42 senses. Each sense below keeps its own list, because a synonym belongs to a meaning and not to a word: swapping one sense's substitute into another sense's sentence is how a thesaurus makes writing worse. Its 3 recorded opposites are rear, foot, tail.
Counts are distinct word forms across every sense. A synonym that appears under three senses is counted once here and shown three times below, under each sense it belongs to.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
“he stuck his head out the window”
a single domestic animal
“200 head of cattle”
a person who is in charge
“the head of the whole operation”
the pressure exerted by a fluid
“a head of steam”
the source of water from which a stream arises
“they tracked him back toward the head of the stream”
the tip of an abscess (where the pus accumulates)
the length or height based on the size of a human or animal head
“he is two heads taller than his little sister”
a dense cluster of flowers or foliage
“a head of cauliflower”
the educator who has executive authority for a school
“she sent unruly pupils to see the principal”
an individual person
“tickets are $5 per head”
a natural elevation (especially a rocky one that juts out into the sea)
a rounded compact mass
“the head of a comet”
the foam or froth that accumulates at the top when you pour an effervescent liquid into a container
“the beer had a large head of foam”
a line of text serving to indicate what the passage below it is about
“the heading seemed to have little to do with the text”
the rounded end of a bone that fits into a rounded cavity in another bone to form a joint
“the head of the humerus”
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
the striking part of a tool
“the head of the hammer”
(nautical) a toilet on board a boat or ship
a projection out from one end
“the head of the nail”
oral stimulation of the genitals
“they say he gives good head”
Synonyms, antonyms and the broader and narrower relations for head come from Princeton University’s WordNet. Full sources and licences.
take its rise
“These rivers head from a mountain range in the Himalayas”
form a head or come or grow to a head
“The wheat headed early this year”