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 actor did recently post on Instagram that his older son, Orion, is heading off to college. — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 17 Sep. 2026

The controversial and beloved stand-up closed out his summer season of shows across the pond, heading off to London for the Pulling Up Tour. — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026

Many ideas to shore up Social Security and head off benefits cuts have been floated but none have gained enough traction to pass Congress. — Medora Lee, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026

Saudi Arabia may give the UN nuclear watchdog greater inspection powers as part of its attempts to get a nuclear deal with the US approved and head off criticism that the agreement does not sufficiently limit proliferation risks. — Matthew Martin, semafor.com, 9 Sep. 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