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

The rate-setting FOMC is split between members who favor cuts to head off further weakness in the labor market and those who think easing has gone far enough and threatens to aggravate inflation. —Christina Cheddar Berk, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2025

That was the moment Expedition Ola was born, with Jaeger and Reilly heading off in their van to rescue more street dogs like Ola. —Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025

After playing 13 straight games, accumulating a 11-2 record and putting together a 10-game winning streak, the Patriots finally will head off on their bye week after being in the facility Tuesday to rewatch Monday night’s win over the Giants. —Doug Kyed, Boston Herald, 2 Dec. 2025

John and Michelle Montali graduated from Uni in 1988, then headed off to college at UCLA. —Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Nov. 2025

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