HEADING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does heading mean? 

• HEADING (noun)
  The noun HEADING has 3 senses:

1. a line of text serving to indicate what the passage below it is about

2. the direction or path along which something moves or along which it lies

3. a horizontal (or nearly horizontal) passageway in a mine

  Familiarity information: HEADING used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• HEADING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A line of text serving to indicate what the passage below it is about

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

head; header; heading

Context example:

the heading seemed to have little to do with the text

Hypernyms ("heading" is a kind of...):

line (text consisting of a row of words written across a page or computer screen)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "heading"):

crosshead; crossheading (a heading of a subsection printed within the body of the text)

headline; newspaper headline (the heading or caption of a newspaper article)

lemma (the heading that indicates the subject of an annotation or a literary composition or a dictionary entry)

rubric (a title or heading that is printed in red or in a special type)

running head; running headline (a heading printed at the top of every page (or every other page) of a book)

subhead; subheading (a heading of a subdivision of a text)

rubric; statute title; title (a heading that names a statute or legislative bill; may give a brief summary of the matters it deals with)

Derivation:

head (be in the front of or on top of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The direction or path along which something moves or along which it lies

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

aim; bearing; heading

Hypernyms ("heading" is a kind of...):

direction; way (a line leading to a place or point)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "heading"):

tack (the heading or position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails)

Derivation:

head (direct the course; determine the direction of travelling)

head (to go or travel towards)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A horizontal (or nearly horizontal) passageway in a mine

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

drift; gallery; heading

Context example:

they dug a drift parallel with the vein

Hypernyms ("heading" is a kind of...):

passageway (a passage between rooms or between buildings)

Domain category:

excavation; mining (the act of extracting ores or coal etc from the earth)

 Context examples 

Each time I was hungry and heading for the pawnbroker.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Mars is heading to your fourth house of home on February 16 to stay until March 30.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

It was undoubtedly heading away from the school.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I find them recorded in my notes under the headings of “The Adventure of the Second Stain,” “The Adventure of the Naval Treaty,” and “The Adventure of the Tired Captain.”

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Currently on an inbound trajectory, comet C/2019 Q4 is heading toward the inner solar system.

(Newly Discovered Comet Is Likely Interstellar Visitor, NASA)

Heading term for medical terms other than physician specialties; for organizations and facilities, see BIOMEDICAL RESOURCE.

(Healthcare, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

Tree section heading for chemistry, physics, and related terms.

(Physical Sciences, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

Note that mammary disorders are not treed under this heading.

(Female Reproductive System Disorder, NIH CRISP Thesaurus)

The decision to end the mission on the surface is a result of Rosetta and the comet heading out beyond the orbit of Jupiter again.

(Final Descent Image from Rosetta Spacecraft, NASA)

"It's not sterilization yet," he added, "but it's heading in that direction."

(Vitamin C Might Shorten Tuberculosis Treatment Time, Study Indicates, VOA/Steve Baragona)