headhunter

noun

head·​hunt·​er ˈhed-ˌhən-tər 

variants or less commonly head hunter or head-hunter

plural headhunters also head hunters or head-hunters

1

: a recruiter of personnel especially at the executive or elite level

Don't automatically assume that all personnel agencies, job recruiters and executive headhunters are working for your best interest.

—Essence

When a corporation enlists the aid of a headhunter to fill a top position, it usually means it has already looked at its internal talent pool …

—Mary Miles

2

sports : an athlete who intentionally seeks to physically intimidate or harm an opponent

[Hockey player Marty] McSorley has had only two other stick suspensions, eight and 12 years ago. … To paint McSorley as a ruthless headhunter is wrong.

—Barry Melrose

especially : a pitcher who deliberately throws balls at or near a batter's head

[Jaret] Wright, a Cleveland righthander who had hit five batters this season and triggered two bench-clearing brawls, was officially condemned as a beanball-throwing bully—a headhunter, as they're known in the hallways of baseball.

—Tom Verducci et al.

3

: one that engages in the act or custom of seeking out and decapitating enemies and preserving their heads as trophies

Until recently they were feared as war-like headhunters and maintained few relations with neighbouring tribes.

—World Religions

Examples of headhunter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Smeltzer, the physician headhunter, said primary care physicians are in especially low supply. —Daniel Chang, CBS News, 11 Feb. 2025

Dressed in an Arc'teryx vest and jeans, Ruf, 36, could pass for any run-of-the-mill headhunter on a casual Friday. —Brandon Kochkodin, Forbes, 30 Jan. 2025

The headhunter without ethics is really the ruthless Kim Hye-jin, played by Park Bo-kyung. —Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2025

In the k-rom-com Love Scout, Han Ji-min plays Kang Ji-yoon, a workaholic headhunter with a lot of talent. —Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 4 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined at sense 3