headstock (plural headstocks)

  1. A part of a machine (such as a lathe or drill) that supports a rotating part
  2. A structure atop a coal mine, used to sink and lift miners and loads.
    • 1913, DH Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, chapter 6
      It was a beautiful day. At Brinsley pit the white steam melted slowly in the sunshine of a soft blue sky; the wheels of the headstocks twinkled high up; the screen, shuffling its coal into the trucks, made a busy noise.
  3. A beam that supports a bell
  4. A clamp that restrains a cow by the neck
  5. The part of a guitar that holds the tensioning screws of the strings
Last modified on 29 March 2013, at 12:47