head off

verb

headed off; heading off; heads off

transitive verb

: to turn back or turn aside : block, prevent

head them off at the pass

attempts to head off the imminent crisis

intransitive verb

: to go to another place

See you later—I'm heading off to work.

Synonyms of head off

• prevent
• avert

Examples of head off in a Sentence

if we act quickly, we may still be able to head off disaster

Recent Examples on the Web

His review seemed a prescient (if covert) attempt to head off the very criticisms that would later confront his own work. —Hermione Hoby, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026

The more descriptive call of the play saw the Wild forward step in front of a Florida pass at the defensive blue line and head off on a break away from there, snapping a wrist shot past Bobrovsky to briefly give Minnesota a 3-2 lead. —Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2026

The colt won the Florida Derby and headed off to Louisville as one of the likely favorites — if not the favorite — for the Kentucky Derby. —Clark Spencer, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026

Then at the other end shortly after, Diaz was brought down in the area as a corner came in, and several members of the Senegal team headed off the pitch and down the tunnel in protest when the referee awarded a penalty. —Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for head off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff