price on someone's head

noun

A compensation for capturing or killing someone, especially a criminal.

“The police put a price on his head after he killed four innocent women.”

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Meanings

noun
  1. idiomaticA compensation for capturing or killing someone, especially a criminal.

    The police put a price on his head after he killed four innocent women.

    1 more example

    "The price on our respective heads has more zeros in it than Pearl Harbor in 1941. Certainly there are safer places to 'get out.'"

    2005 February 6, Howard Tayler, Schlock Mercenary, archived from the original on 07 Dec 2023

Origin

From the earlier punishment of beheading criminals. The usage of this idiom began in the mid-1700s.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish precio por su cabeza
  • precio por su cabezaverb
Cite this entry
APA

price on someone's head. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/price%20on%20someone's%20head

MLA

“price on someone's head.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/price%20on%20someone's%20head. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “price on someone's head,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/price%20on%20someone's%20head.

Source: price on someone's head on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.