Headed

Headed is the past tense and past participle of the verb head. In its verbal use, it denotes direction or leadership. For direction, it means to be moving toward a place or goal: The ship is headed for Lisbon; the expedition is headed toward the Arctic. For leadership, it denotes who directs a group or organization: The committee is headed by Dr. Rivera. The phrase be headed by is common in formal and news writing.

As an adjective, headed can form compound adjectives that describe something with a head or multiple heads, typically in hyphenated form: two-headed, three-headed, multi-headed.

Etymology and usage notes: headed derives from the noun head, with the verb sense meaning to lead or direct. The usage distinguishes movement toward a destination or goal from leadership roles, with the latter often expressed as be headed by followed by the leader’s name. The term appears in both everyday and formal contexts, including journalism and organizational descriptions.