headquarters
noun
Simple meaning
The center of an organization's operations or administration.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hehdkwawrterzSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhɛdkwɔɹtɚz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The center of an organization's operations or administration.
The military installation from which a commander performs the functions of command
“The general's headquarters were a couple of large tents.”
A place of concentrated activity or influence.
The military installation from which troops are commanded and orders are issued; the military unit consisting of a commander and his support staff.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The center of an organization's operations or administration.
Used this way, headquarters is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use headquarters
- “Many companies have their headquarters in New York.”noun
- “The general's headquarters were a couple of large tents.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Provide with headquarters.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Military staff stationed at headquarters.
Military headquarters from which a military commander controls and organizes the forces.
A station that serves as headquarters for police in a particular district.
The highest leaders in an organization (e.g. the commander-in-chief and senior officers of the military).
The supreme headquarters that advises NATO on military matters and oversees all aspects of the Allied Command Europe.
The military installation from which a commander performs the functions of command.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: center of an organization's operations or administration
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.