head off

British  

verb

1. to intercept and force to change direction

   to head off the stampede

2. to prevent or forestall (something that is likely to happen)

3. to depart or set out

   to head off to school

---

head off Idioms  

1. Block the progress or completion of; also, intercept. For example, They worked round the clock to head off the flu epidemic, or Try to head him off before he gets home. [First half of 1800s] This expression gave rise to head someone off at the pass, which in Western films meant “to block someone at a mountain pass.” It then became a general colloquialism for intercepting someone, as in Jim is going to the boss's office—let's head him off at the pass.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

head off

You're finally about to head off on a well-earned break, but there's one more task to tick off your to-do list: composing an out-of-office reply.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

River just keeps banging his head off the brick wall that is J.K.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

"So you pay the amount. An hour later, they say it’ll be in your account. But it's not there. And you cry, you scream your head off."

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

The trip passed pleasantly and as we entered the London station, all preparing to head off, she leaned over and quietly said, “That’s what I love about you Americans. You talk on trains.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

She wished right then that she was back home with her cousins, getting ready to head off to the Frederick Douglass School for Negro Children.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland