Headless Horseman

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

A corpse of a man that is missing the head due to decapitation.

Register: slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

They had dozens of names for different types of corpses—“crispy critters,” “stinkers,” “floaters,” “dunkers,” and “Headless Horsemen,” just to name a few. Butch Farabee, national emergency services coordinator for the National Park ..

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “Headless Horseman” mean?

A corpse of a man that is missing the head due to decapitation.

Is “Headless Horseman” formal or informal?

Headless Horseman is generally slang.