Idiom
price on someone's head
Meaning
A compensation for capturing or killing someone, especially a criminal.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The criminal has a price on his head.”
“The outlaw hides because there is a price on his head.”
“You are not safe if the sheriff puts a price on your head.”
“The detective knew that a large reward meant there was a price on the fugitive's head.”
“After the spy stole the secret documents, the government put a massive price on her head to ensure she was caught before crossing the border.”
“The gang leader realized he was in danger when he heard his rivals had put a price on his head.”
“After the rebellion failed, the king placed a heavy price on the leader's head to ensure he would never return to power.”
Examples
simple
“The criminal has a price on his head.”
“The outlaw hides because there is a price on his head.”
“You are not safe if the sheriff puts a price on your head.”
contextual
“The detective knew that a large reward meant there was a price on the fugitive's head.”
“After the spy stole the secret documents, the government put a massive price on her head to ensure she was caught before crossing the border.”
“The gang leader realized he was in danger when he heard his rivals had put a price on his head.”
complex
“After the rebellion failed, the king placed a heavy price on the leader's head to ensure he would never return to power.”
Origin
Attested from the mid-1700s, the phrase originates from the earlier practice of beheading criminals. The price refers to the reward offered for the delivery of a person’s head, providing physical confirmation that a sentence of execution had been carried out. As the state moved away from decapitation, the idiom remained to denote a bounty offered for a person's capture or death.
Key words
Related idioms
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