as in averted
to keep from happening by taking action in advance
if we act quickly, we may still be able to head off disaster
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Recent Examples of headed off
The trio and Peterson subsequently boarded a 1947 Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza airplane and headed off into poor winter weather conditions late at night.
—
Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
Some of us headed off to bed; for others, another movie beckoned.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2026
The Moment lands between a celebrity thriller, reality television, and a pop concert documentary that’s headed off the rails.
—Anna Gaca, Pitchfork, 30 Jan. 2026
The colt won the Florida Derby and headed off to Louisville as one of the likely favorites — if not the favorite — for the Kentucky Derby.
—Clark Spencer, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Then at the other end shortly after, Diaz was brought down in the area as a corner came in, and several members of the Senegal team headed off the pitch and down the tunnel in protest when the referee awarded a penalty.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2026
Morgan headed off in the morning to his job as a Boston Bruin for a matinee against the New York Rangers while his wife Emma, deep into her pregnancy, hitched a ride with another player’s wife to the game.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 13 Jan. 2026
Within just five minutes, a motorcade, including the armored truck, a white van and roughly 10 black SUVs, headed off south down the West Side Highway with lights flashing.
—Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2026
Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik are headed off on a roadtrip in a Netflix docu-series, Deadline can confirm.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
Chris Barilla, PEOPLE, 3 Feb. 2026
Some of us headed off to bed; for others, another movie beckoned.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2026
The Moment lands between a celebrity thriller, reality television, and a pop concert documentary that’s headed off the rails.
—Anna Gaca, Pitchfork, 30 Jan. 2026
The colt won the Florida Derby and headed off to Louisville as one of the likely favorites — if not the favorite — for the Kentucky Derby.
—Clark Spencer, Miami Herald, 22 Jan. 2026
Then at the other end shortly after, Diaz was brought down in the area as a corner came in, and several members of the Senegal team headed off the pitch and down the tunnel in protest when the referee awarded a penalty.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2026
Morgan headed off in the morning to his job as a Boston Bruin for a matinee against the New York Rangers while his wife Emma, deep into her pregnancy, hitched a ride with another player’s wife to the game.
—Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 13 Jan. 2026
Within just five minutes, a motorcade, including the armored truck, a white van and roughly 10 black SUVs, headed off south down the West Side Highway with lights flashing.
—Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 3 Jan. 2026
Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik are headed off on a roadtrip in a Netflix docu-series, Deadline can confirm.
—Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headed off
Verb
-
In Connecticut and across New England, where talk of electricity tends to turn on highest-in-the-nation rates, the potential cold weather energy emergency faced by customers elsewhere was averted, but that success comes with a warning.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
8 Feb. 2026
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After hours of House of Commons debate, a vote was averted when the government gave in to lawmakers' anger and agreed that the Intelligence and Security Committee would decide what papers should be published, rather than a senior civil servant as Starmer had proposed.—
JILL LAWLESS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Liu skated on, mastering her jumps and repeating as national champion in 2020, though age restrictions prevented her from entering international competitions.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
16 Feb. 2026
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The dog was found alive and was led off the mountain by rangers, officials said, but poor weather conditions initially prevented crews from recovering the hiker’s body.—
Ashley Carnahan,
FOXNews.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Headed off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headed%20off. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.
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