headline

Etymology

From head + line.

noun

1. (journalism) The heading or title of a magazine or newspaper article.
   The headline on today's newspaper reads "John Doe Wins Wood-Splitting Competition."
   Risk is everywhere. From tabloid headlines insisting that coffee causes cancer (yesterday, of course, it cured it) to stern government warnings about alcohol and driving, the world is teeming with goblins. For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. 22 June 2013, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76
2. (printing, dated) The line at the top of a page containing the folio or number of the page.
3. (entertainment) The top-billed attraction.
4. (nautical) A headrope.

verb

1. To give a headline to a page or section of a text.
2. (transitive, intransitive, entertainment) To present as the main attraction; to have top billing, to be the main attraction.