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

After religious conservatives objected to the film’s poster – which depicted an apparently pregnant Virgin Mary nailed to a cross – riot police were called out to head off any potential disturbances at the premiere. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 14 Mar. 2026

He’s successfully advocated for creating new incentives for affordable housing construction and automatically renewing a program that freezes property values for some seniors, heading off big bill spikes from rising property values. —A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2026

John heads off to lunch to try to mend things with Caroline, to whom neither of them has spoken since the party. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2026

Mark Kastelic takes the opening faceoff, wins the all-important draw and heads off the ice, to be replaced by a player presumed to have more offensive chops. —Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 11 Mar. 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