Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

heads-up

/ˌhɛdzˈʌp/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.66 in modern English

Syllables: head-s-up
IPA: /ˌhɛdzˈʌp/

13

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A warning or call to pay attention; an advisory notice; a notice of what is to happen; a holler.

American usage

noun

Involving two players. (usually said when there are only two players in the table; or, when all players except two folded)

adj

With head directly above the neck, eyes front.

adj

Alert; vigilant

Example Sentences

"Send everyone a heads-up about the inspection tomorrow."
"There were only two of us, so we started playing heads-up."
"There are seven players on the table. Five folded, the remaining two played heads-up until the showdown."
"A heads-up posture meant the pilot couldn't pay attention to his instruments."
"Getting those marbles off the red carpet was a real heads-up move."

Usage

American usage

Inflected Forms

heads-ups (plural) heads up (alternative) headsup (alternative) more heads-up (comparative) most heads-up (superlative)

Phrases

wake-up call heads-up digitizing heads-up display

Frequently Paired Words

alarm alert wake-up call warning notice notification

Synonyms

wide-awake

Questions

How do you pronounce heads-up?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌhɛdzˈʌp/.
What does heads-up mean?: A warning or call to pay attention; an advisory notice; a notice of what is to happen; a holler.

How to pronounce heads-up

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “heads-up”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌhɛdzˈʌp/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “heads-up”.
Repeat and practice — Say “heads-up” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.