Noun

1. The upper portion of a page (or other) layout.

   If you reduce the header of this document, the body will fit onto a single page.

2. Text, or other visual information, used to mark off a quantity of text, often titling or summarizing it.

   Your header is too long; "Local Cannibals" will suffice.

3. Text, or other visual information, that goes at the top of a column of information in a table.

   That column should have the header "payment status".

4. A font, text style, or typesetting used for any of the above.

   Parts of speech belong in a level-three header. Level-two headers are reserved for the name of the language.

5. a brick that is laid sideways at the top of a wall or within the brickwork with the short side showing; compare stretcher

   This wall has four header courses.

6. a horizontal structural or finish piece over an opening
7. a machine that cuts the heads off of grain etc

   They fed the bale into the header.

8. the act of hitting the ball with the head

   His header for the goal followed a perfect corner kick.

9. a headlong fall or jump

   The clown tripped over the other clown took a header.

10. the first part of a file or record that describes its contents

    The header includes an index, an identifier, and a pointer to the next entry.

11. (networking) the first part of a packet, often containing its address and descriptors

    The encapsulation layer adds an eight byte header and a two byte trailer to each packet.

Related terms

• body
• footer
• head
• heading
• layout
• table
• table cell