headhunt
headhunt Lexical Profile
headhunt Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To identify and approach a talented person employed elsewhere in order to recruit them for a high-level position.
"The technology firm decided to headhunt a senior engineer from its main competitor to lead the new division."
North American To deliberately aim a ball, puck, or physical blow at an opponent's head during a contact sport.
"The referee ejected the defenseman for attempting to headhunt the opposing team's star player."
To collect the severed heads of enemies as trophies, historically practiced in certain traditional societies.
"Anthropologists studied how warriors in the region used to headhunt during territorial conflicts."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the late 19th century as a back-formation from "headhunter" or "headhunting," originally describing the ritual practice of taking severed heads as trophies; the figurative corporate recruitment sense emerged in American business English in the 1960s.