as in preventing
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 heading off
In a group photo from Sunday, April 19, the teens stood between their parents before heading off to prom, both dressed to impress for the night out.
—
Georgia Slater, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
The moody space feels well-suited for a nightcap before heading off to bed.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 16 Apr. 2026
Betts, Rice, Jaquez and Leger-Walker are heading off to begin their professional basketball careers with the WNBA draft that is scheduled to be held on April 13.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 5 Apr. 2026
Both of the Kelce brothers went to Cincinnati before heading off to their respective NFL careers.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 2 Apr. 2026
Happy families and college students heading off on spring break vacations are being helped every day by 61,000 unpaid TSA workers.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 24 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
Quarterback Wyatt Brown, instead of heading off to West Virginia, has been training in the 400 to gain speed for his college season this fall.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026
The five-year exhibit runs in San Francisco’s Presidio through August before heading off to 10 other cities, including Honolulu, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon.
—ABC News, 3 Mar. 2026
Georgia Slater, PEOPLE, 20 Apr. 2026
The moody space feels well-suited for a nightcap before heading off to bed.
—Tori Latham, Robb Report, 16 Apr. 2026
Betts, Rice, Jaquez and Leger-Walker are heading off to begin their professional basketball careers with the WNBA draft that is scheduled to be held on April 13.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 5 Apr. 2026
Both of the Kelce brothers went to Cincinnati before heading off to their respective NFL careers.
—Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 2 Apr. 2026
Happy families and college students heading off on spring break vacations are being helped every day by 61,000 unpaid TSA workers.
—Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 24 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
Quarterback Wyatt Brown, instead of heading off to West Virginia, has been training in the 400 to gain speed for his college season this fall.
—Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2026
The five-year exhibit runs in San Francisco’s Presidio through August before heading off to 10 other cities, including Honolulu, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon.
—ABC News, 3 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heading off
Verb
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Today’s top stories Hospice fraud in California A psychotherapist discovered she had been fraudulently enrolled in hospice care, preventing Medicare from covering treatment for a pickleball injury.—
Deputy Managing Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
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Nevertheless, some Ukrainian negotiators hope that renaming the area to honor Trump would both appeal to his ego and give him a public relations interest in preventing its capture by Russia.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Both lawmakers submitted formal resignation letters that were read on the House floor, averting potential expulsion actions by colleagues.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
14 Apr. 2026
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The Los Angeles Unified School District and Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 99, which represents roughly 30,000 school support workers, reached an agreement in principle early Tuesday, averting a strike just hours before schools were set to open.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heading off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heading%20off. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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