Dictionary

lose one's head en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /luːz wʌnz hɛd/

Meanings

1. (figuratively) To be killed, usually in a gruesome manner.
2. (qualifier:literal) To suffer decapitation.
3. (idiomatic) To behave irrationally or to lose one's self-control, especially in a distressing situation or as a result of falling in love.
   • Mrs. Ambient's grief was frantic; she lost her head and said strange things. 1884, Henry James, chapter 4, in The Author of Beltraffio:
   • "He never lost his head in a crisis," Mr. Mandela wrote of his comrade. 2003 May 6, Bill Keller, “Walter Sisulu, Mandela Mentor and Comrade, Dies at 90”, in New York Times, retrieved 12 Dec 2009:
   • He then had to jump, and appears to have lost his head, as instead of walking the short distance forward to Slochd to let the signalman know what had happened, he started the 6½-mile walk back to Carrbridge. 1940 November, “Notes and News: A Highland Collision”, in Railway Magazine, page 612:
   • Losing his head entirely, the young collier raved like a madman, what with pain and fear of hospital. 1914, D. H. Lawrence, “A Sick Collier”, in The Prussian Officer and Other Stories:
4. (idiomatic) To be dismissed from a job.

Forms

Antonyms

keep one's head

Relateds

lose one's head if it wasn't attached

Synonyms

wig out · lose one's mind · in love · freak out · panic · off with someone's head · head over heels · lose one's marbles · flip out

Translations (19)

tr aklını yitirmek (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · ru теря́ть го́лову (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · hu elveszti a fejét (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · tr aklını kaçırmak (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · nb miste hodet (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · pl tracić głowę (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · hy գլուխը կորցնել (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · fi seota (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · oc pèrder lo cap (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · fi menettää päänsä (to suffer decapitation) · it perdere la testa (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · pt perder a cabeça (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · fi saada potkut (to be dismissed from a job) · fi mennä sekaisin (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · pl stracić głowę (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · es perder la cabeza (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · de den Kopf verlieren (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · fr perdre la tête (to behave irrationally or lose self-control) · ru потеря́ть го́лову (to behave irrationally or lose self-control)