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

Zoey Smith is a senior preparing to graduate from the Science Leadership Academy at Beeber before heading off to Howard University. —Nikki Dementri, CBS News, 12 May 2026

That’s led to a stark split between Wall Street analysts and energy experts, who have been warning that oil supplies could head off a cliff in the coming months or even weeks, dragging the global economy down in the process. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 10 May 2026

Before heading off to shower and change for the Barranquilla show, Balvin assessed his expectations for his beloved Colombian football team at the World Cup. —Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 9 May 2026

In Starmer’s first year in office, his team sought to head off Reform’s surge by appealing to right-wing voters with tougher rhetoric and policies on immigration. —Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 8 May 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