headhunter

• head hunter

From head +‎ hunter.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhɛdˌhʌntɚ/

• Audio (US):

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headhunter (plural headhunters)

2. (anthropology) A person who practises headhunting, the taking and preserving of a person's head after killing them.
   • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

     Theirs was the spirit which upheld Darwin among the gauchos of the Argentine or Wallace among the head-hunters of Malaya.

4. (business) One who recruits skilled personnel, especially executive-level ones, for a company.

   Near-synonyms: recruiter, talent scout

   A headhunter called me out of the blue with an offer I couldn't refuse.

6. (baseball) A pitcher who throws at the batter's head.

   Thankfully, there aren't many headhunters in the modern game.

8. (ice hockey) A player who uses a hockey stick to attempt to strike an opponent's head.

   He is known as a goon and a headhunter.

• headhunt
• headhunted
• headhunting

• → German: Headhunter m

• (baseball pitching): duster