lose one's head - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

• IPA^(key): /luːz wʌnz hɛd/

lose one's head (third-person singular simple present loses one's head, present participle losing one's head, simple past and past participle lost one's head)

1. (figuratively) To be killed, usually in a gruesome manner.
2. (literal) To suffer decapitation.
3. (idiomatic) To behave irrationally or to lose one's self-control, especially in a distressing situation or as a result of falling in love.

   • 1884, Henry James, chapter 4, in The Author of Beltraffio:

     Mrs. Ambient's grief was frantic; she lost her head and said strange things.

   • 1914, D. H. Lawrence, “A Sick Collier”, in The Prussian Officer and Other Stories:

     Losing his head entirely, the young collier raved like a madman, what with pain and fear of hospital.

   • 1940 November, “Notes and News: A Highland Collision”, in Railway Magazine, page 612:

     He then had to jump, and appears to have lost his head, as instead of walking the short distance forward to Slochd to let the signalman know what had happened, he started the 6½-mile walk back to Carrbridge.
4. (idiomatic) To be dismissed from a job.

(Only applicable to certain senses and situations):

• keep one's head

• lose one's head if it wasn't attached