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

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

In Mozart’s original, two Italian soldiers decide to test their lovers’ fidelity by pretending to head off to war. — ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026

The state is the oldest in the country by the average age of its residents, with the youth heading off to cities or the West. — Mark Sappenfield, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Sep. 2026

From there, Adenot headed off to continue an ongoing scientific study by swabbing areas on the exterior of the airlock and her gloves for possible microorganisms. — Robert Z. Pearlman, Space.com, 1 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