ENGLISH
REFERENCE

head up

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford General-service

phr. v.. to be the person in charge of a group, a project, or a department.

phr. v.. to lead or manage a specific organizational unit, project, or team; often used in corporate or professional contexts to denote leadership of a subset of a larger organization.


SIMPLE

She was chosen to head up the new marketing team.

CONTEXTUAL

After the merger, he was asked to head up the integration task force to ensure a smooth transition.

COMPLEX

The university appointed a renowned researcher to head up the newly established department of artificial intelligence and ethics.

Particles
up
Separability
optional
Pattern
head + up + object
Usage

transitive; the object is typically a department, team, or specific initiative.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'lead'—while 'lead' is general, 'head up' often implies being formally appointed to a specific organizational structure or project.

Pitfall

He heads up for the committee.He heads up the committee.the verb is transitive and takes a direct object without a preposition like 'for'.

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