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

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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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

head off

Walter is now racing to sell or unwind many of those undisclosed loans to head off ratings downgrades that would scare off policy buyers, the Journal reported.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

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

"Martha woke up and she couldn't lift her head off the pillow, she said she knew right away that she had polio, because she heard so much about it," McVey said.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

But for some reason, she couldn’t just get my permission and head off to join her friends.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama