headcase
"headcase" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“headcase” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mentally unbalanced, unpredictable person, especially one who displays aggressive behavior.
Corpus desk
Index EN-headcase · headcase · English
headcase · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | headcase |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “headcase” in English
Rare enough to double-check
headcase is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for headcase, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From head + case. The correct English form is headcase, spelled H-E-A-D-C-A-S-E.
Definition
- 1A mentally unbalanced, unpredictable person, especially one who displays aggressive behavior.
- 2A genetic sequence that inhibits terminal branching of the trachea and regulates dendrite pruning.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how headcase appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
"A stockbroker doesn't have 80,000 people sitting behind him just waiting for a mistake," says Jim Fassel, whom fans serenaded with "Fire Fassel!" chants during his final weeks as head coach of the New York Giants last season. "It can drive you crazy." From head coach to head case in three easy steps.
Another gene downstream of EcR/Usp is headcase. Screening genes that show genetic interactions with EcR mutants, Loncle and Williams identified headcase as a regulator of dendrite pruning (Loncle and Williams 2012).
Etymology
From head + case.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.