HEADCOUNT

Etymology

compounding of head count

Noun

headcount (plural headcounts)

The act of counting how many people are present in a group.

The number of people present in a group or employed by a company.

More generally, a consideration of a company's appropriate staffing level based on some larger context. (Generally used adjectivally.)

• Due to economic difficulties, the company will be making headcount adjustments.

By extension, one slot in a workgroup, filled or to be filled by one person.

• I've convinced management to give us one more headcount, to take some work off the rest of us.

Usage notes

The two-word spelling head count refers neutrally to simple counts. The one-word spelling headcount tends to have a business jargon feel to it, especially when used adjectivally in phrases such as "headcount reduction", or in the extrapolated case where it refers to one person or one job opening.

Source: Wiktionary