headhunt
/ˈhɛdˌhʌnt/verb
headhunt is spelled H-E-A-D-H-U-N-T: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 52 million words in written English, the 225,584th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, headhunt means “To cut off, and preserve, the heads of one's enemies” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in headhunt?
| Letters | 8: H-E-A-D-H-U-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 52 million words; the 225,584th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is headhunt?
Headhunt appears about once in every 52 million words in written English, the 225,584th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce headhunt?
- US /ˈhɛdˌhʌnt/
Headhunt has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of headhunt
- headhunts present, singular, he/she/it
- headhunting participle, present
- headhunted participle, past
- head-hunt
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does headhunt mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cut off, and preserve, the heads of one's enemies.
- 2
To actively recruit executive personnel.
- 3
To pitch at a batter's head.
There's a brawl on the field because the pitcher has been headhunting throughout the game.
- 4
To use one's hockey stick to strike an opponent's head.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does headhunt come from?
Back-formation from headhunter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).