n. 1. Clash or collision of heads in contest. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. (Zool.) (a) The menhaden. See Menhaden. [ Local, U. S. ] (b) Block's gurnard (Trigla gurnardus) of Europe. (c) A California salmon; the steelhead. (d) The gray whale. See Gray whale, under Gray. (e) A coarse American commercial sponge (Spongia dura). [ 1913 Webster ]
(adj) guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory, Syn. pragmatic, hard-nosed, practical, Example:a hardheaded appraisal of our position; a hard-nosed labor leader; completely practical in his approach to business; not ideology but pragmatic politics