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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The airfield famously hosted an aeronautical school in the 1940s, when the Army Air Corps relied on the facility to train aviators headed off to fight World War II. Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 May 2025 Doing so heads off the job board chaos to begin with. Rebecca Fraser-Thill, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025 After a news conference outside the jail, Williams climbed into his SUV and headed off, with the fallout from the now-notorious jailbreak still yet to crest. Chris Kenning, USA Today, 24 May 2025 Released to critical acclaim in February 2022, Elden Ring is an action RPG set in an authentic dark fantasy world, which allows players to head off on adventures within vast environments and dungeons. Matt Grobar, Deadline, 22 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for head off

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of head off was in 1825

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Head off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/head%20off. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!