The quarters or place of residence of any chief officer, as the general in command of an army, or the head of a police force; the place from which orders or instructions are issued; hence, the center of authority or order
The headquarters of an organization are its main offices. fraud squad officers from London's police headquarters = HQ
- Since 1999, the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of the UNCCD is in Bonn, Germany
(usually plural) the military installation from which a commander performs the functions of command; "the general's headquarters were a couple of large tents"