Definition of head-onnext
as in head-to-head
in direct confrontation or competition the underdog team met its more talented opponent head-on and won the hockey game through sheer grit

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of head-on One accelerant of America’s decline as a superpower will be that former allies will look elsewhere for their safety, while adversaries will recalculate the right time to challenge Washington head-on. Andreas Kluth, Twin Cities, 14 Apr. 2026 Mississippi takes its history head-on. Gary Fields, Arkansas Online, 13 Apr. 2026 Mississippi takes its history head-on. Gary Fields, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2026 Associate administrator Amit Kshatriya pointed to Artemis I flight data, ground testing, and engineering models as justification, and Glover acknowledged the risk head-on, noting the heat shield and parachutes are systems with zero fault tolerance built in. Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for head-on
Recent Examples of Synonyms for head-on
Adverb
  • City have never drawn against Bournemouth in the Premier League, which makes that stubborn streak an unusual wrinkle in this head-to-head.
    Sukhman Singh, New York Times, 16 May 2026
  • But this is a very serious feature upgrade for the new Android phones, and even more so for the Galaxy Z Fold 8, which will go head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone Fold this year.
    Janhoi McGregor, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
Adverb
  • But with Niño based in Santa Monica and Timothy operating between Sierra Leone and London, face-to-face collaboration was never in the cards—that is, until one especially soggy London afternoon last November, when Niño took advantage of a day off tour and made his way to Timothy’s studio.
    Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 22 May 2026
  • Rejections don’t exist in vacuums; the devastating, face-to-face playground rejection of a little Black child by a white child in 1961 New Orleans was taught by adults.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Head-on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/head-on. Accessed 23 May. 2026.

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