headquarters
/ˈhɛdˌk(w)ɔɹ.tɚz/noun, verb
headquarters is spelled H-E-A-D-Q-U-A-R-T-E-R-S: 12 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,875th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, headquarters means “The military installation from which troops are commanded and orders are issued; the military unit consisting of a commander and his support staff” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in headquarters?
| Letters | 12: H-E-A-D-Q-U-A-R-T-E-R-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 23 times per million words; the 3,875th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is headquarters?
Headquarters appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,875th 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 headquarters?
- UK /ˌhɛdˈk(w)ɔː.təz/
- US /ˈhɛdˌk(w)ɔɹ.tɚz/
Headquarters has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-headquarters.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-headquarters.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does headquarters mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The military installation from which troops are commanded and orders are issued; the military unit consisting of a commander and his support staff.
- 2
The center of an organization's operations or administration.
- 3
A place of concentrated activity or influence.
verb
- 1
third-person singular simple present indicative of headquarter
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate headquarters?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of headquarters: HQ, hdqrs.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Headquarters in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | quartier général , siège social, siège |
| German | Hauptquartier , Zentrale, Präsidium |
| Portuguese | quartel-general , sede, matriz |
| Spanish | cuartel general, cuarteles generales , sede, jefatura, sede central |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does headquarters come from?
From head + quarters.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).