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 chef serves her signature fish nearly whole with crackling skin and flaky flesh, but head off and skillfully deboned. —Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026

Google has tried to head off any problems by changing where the data is stored. —Nina Totenberg, NPR, 27 Apr. 2026

Jennie Garth's youngest daughter (shared with ex Peter Facinelli) headed off to her 2024 junior prom in a black gown with contrasting trim — this time, not a handmade creation by Garth, who sewed her middle daughter Lola's dress back in 2021. —Lindy Segal, PEOPLE, 25 Apr. 2026

Before Snow heads off to serve his sentence, President Warnock (Peter Hudson) receives the news that his daughter, Emilie (Maggie Grace), who was investigating issues around MS One, has been taken hostage by the prisoners who have woken up. —Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 25 Apr. 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