head cheese

noun

A terrine made from the flesh of the head of a pig (such as the face).

Similar
brawnpork cheesesousebig cheesecock cheese
OriginDutch hoofdkaas →
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Meanings

head cheese1

nounhead cheese (countable and uncountable, plural head cheeses)

plural head cheeses

  1. CanadaUScountableuncountableA terrine made from the flesh of the head of a pig (such as the face).

    Synonyms: brawn, pork cheese, souse

head cheese2

nounhead cheese (plural head cheeses)

plural head cheeses

  1. Synonym of big cheese.

    Oh, some of our clients talk big. Spend big. And you get a big rush of power when the head cheeses come in. One time, I got Janet Reno.

    1996 September, Susie Day, “Clean, Safe, Totally Shameful”, in Gay Community News, page 9

    Synonyms: big cheese

head cheese3

nounhead cheese (plural head cheeses)

plural head cheeses

  1. euphemisticslangSynonym of cock cheese.

    Synonyms: cock cheese

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA terrine made from the flesh of the head of a pig (such as the face).

Similar
brawnpork cheesesouse

nounSynonym of big cheese.

Similar
big cheese

nounSynonym of cock cheese.

Similar
cock cheese
Also see
cock cheesedickcheese

Origin

  1. Dutchhoofdkaas
  2. Englishhead cheese

Calque of Dutch hoofdkaas.

More words from Dutch

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

head cheese. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20cheese

MLA

“head cheese.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20cheese. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “head cheese,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20cheese.

Source: head cheese on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.