HC
Abbreviation with 9 meanings
| Stands for | Headcanon |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 9 |
| Categories | Texting & Internet Slang, Sports, Medical, Business & Finance, Arts & Entertainment, Writing & Everyday |
HC has nine meanings. The most common are Headcanon (fandom and fan fiction) and Head coach (American football); it can also stand for Head circumference, Headcount, High cube container, Hardcore (game mode) and Hardcover, plus 2 more listed below.
Meanings of HC at a glance
| # | HC stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Headcanon | Texting & Internet Slang › Fandom and Fan Fiction |
| 2 | Head coach | Sports › American Football |
| 3 | Head circumference | Medical › Patient Assessment |
| 4 | Headcount | Business & Finance › Human Resources |
| 5 | High cube container | Business & Finance › Logistics, Supply Chain & Trade |
| 6 | Hardcore (game mode) | Texting & Internet Slang › Gaming Slang |
| 7 | Hardcover | Arts & Entertainment › Publishing and Book |
| 8 | Hydrocortisone | Medical › Drug |
| 9 | Highway contract route | Writing & Everyday › Mail and Postal |
1. Headcanon
Texting & Internet Slang · Fandom and Fan Fiction Abbreviations
A fan's personal belief or interpretation about a character or story detail that is not confirmed in canon, such as a character's favorite food or hidden backstory.
Example: My HC is that the stern captain secretly loves bad reality TV.
Tumblr made "headcanon" posts and lists a popular format in the 2010s. When a creator later confirms a fan theory, fans say it became canon. Fanon describes headcanons so widely shared they feel official. In gaming HC means hardcore mode, a separate sense.
2. Head coach
Sports · American Football Abbreviations
Top coach of a football team, responsible for the program, game-management decisions such as fourth-down calls and replay challenges, and the staff of coordinators and position coaches. In the NFL, head coaches report to the general manager or owner.
Example: The Bears named their offensive coordinator the new HC after a two-week search.
Under the Rooney Rule, adopted in 2003 and expanded in 2022, NFL teams must interview at least two external minority candidates for head coach openings. Head coaches communicate with the quarterback through a radio in his helmet. Baseball and soccer teams are led by managers instead.
3. Head circumference
Medical · Patient Assessment Abbreviations
Measurement around the largest part of the head, just above the eyebrows and ears and around the back, recorded for infants and young children and plotted on growth charts. It screens for microcephaly and hydrocephalus.
Example: HC 38.5 cm at 6 weeks, tracking 50th percentile.
Also called occipitofrontal circumference (OFC). A nonstretch tape is used and the largest of several readings recorded. US guidance recommends WHO growth charts for children under 2. Crossing percentile lines quickly upward can be an early sign of hydrocephalus.
4. Headcount
Business & Finance · Human Resources Abbreviations
Number of people employed by an organization or team, regardless of hours worked, and by extension an approved position in a budget, as in "we got two more HC." HR and finance track planned versus actual headcount closely.
Example: We're adding three HC in support next quarter.
Headcount differs from FTE: ten part-timers are ten heads but may be only five FTEs. "Backfill" means replacing a departing person within existing headcount rather than adding a new position.
5. High cube container
Business & Finance · Logistics, Supply Chain & Trade Abbreviations
Shipping container that is 9 feet 6 inches tall instead of the standard 8 feet 6 inches, giving about 13% more volume. The 40-foot high cube is one of the most common container types.
Example: Book a 40HC so the furniture fits without disassembly.
Usually written 40HC or 40'HQ in bookings. Height restrictions on some roads and rail routes can matter for high cubes. In HR, HC means headcount.
6. Hardcore (game mode)
Texting & Internet Slang · Gaming Slang Abbreviations
Difficulty setting in which death is permanent or penalties are severe, so a character lost cannot be revived. Found in Diablo, Minecraft, Path of Exile and survival games.
Example: Lost my level 80 HC character to a lag spike, I'm devastated.
Diablo II's hardcore mode made the idea famous, and Minecraft's Hardcore mode deletes or locks the world after death. "HC" leaderboards and "hardcore ironman" challenges are prized for prestige. In fandom HC means headcanon.
7. Hardcover
Arts & Entertainment · Publishing and Book Abbreviations
Book bound with rigid covers, usually with a paper dust jacket, often the first edition of new adult fiction and nonfiction. Hardcovers carry higher prices and are favored by libraries.
Example: The HC comes out in May, with the paperback following a year later.
Also written HB (hardback) in British publishing. Publishers traditionally released hardcovers first and paperbacks about a year later. Collectors seek first-edition hardcovers with intact dust jackets.
8. Hydrocortisone
Medical · Drug Abbreviations
Abbreviation for hydrocortisone, the pharmaceutical form of cortisol, used as replacement in adrenal insufficiency, for adrenal crisis, as stress-dose steroids and in topical creams for eczema and rashes.
Example: Adrenal crisis: HC 100 mg IV now, then 50 mg q6h.
Patients on long-term steroids or with Addison disease follow "sick day rules", doubling or tripling their hydrocortisone dose during illness. Topical HC 1% is available OTC. In pediatrics HC more commonly means head circumference, so the drug name should be written out in orders.
9. Highway contract route
Writing & Everyday · Mail and Postal Abbreviations · also used in geography
Appears in some rural US addresses, such as "HC 1 Box 25," for mail carried by private contractors along a highway route rather than by Postal Service carriers.
Example: Our cabin's mailing address is HC 63 Box 1020, near the end of the gravel road.
Highway contract routes were historically known as star routes. Like rural-route addresses, many HC addresses have been converted to street addresses. The format gives HC, the route number and a box number in place of a house number and street.
Related abbreviations
More fandom and fan fiction abbreviations
- FL – Female lead
- FMC – Female main character
- GL – Girls' love
- H/C – Hurt/comfort
- HEA – Happily ever after
- HFN – Happy for now
- IC – In character
- L/N – Last name
See all 59 fandom and fan fiction abbreviations →
More American football abbreviations
- FG – Field goal (American football)
- FS – Free safety
- FUM – Fumble
- HB – Halfback
- INT – Interception
- IR – Injured reserve
- K – Kicker
- KR – Kick returner
See all 80 American football abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.