head off
Third Person
heads off
Present Participle
heading off
Past Tense
headed off
Past Participle
headed off
1
to begin a journey or depart from a place
- We'll need to head off early in the morning to avoid traffic.
- They decided to head off on their road trip as soon as the sun rose.
- He had to head off for the airport to catch his flight.
- She and her friends planned to head off to the mountains for a weekend getaway.
- I'm heading off to work now; I'll be back in the evening.
2
to block someone or something's path in order to redirect them or prevent them from proceeding in a particular direction
transitive
- The sheepdog was trained to head off the wandering sheep and guide them back to the flock.
- She hurriedly headed her little brother off to prevent him from running into the street.
- She tried to head off the children before they reached the busy street.
- The traffic officer skillfully headed the approaching vehicles off to detour them around the accident site.
- The police officer had to head off the suspect to prevent them from escaping.
3
to take action to prevent or resolve a problem before it occurs
transitive
- The company decided to head off any potential disputes by clarifying the contract terms.
- We should head the safety concerns off by implementing stricter regulations.
- They worked together to head off a crisis by resolving the conflict between the team members.
- The committee plans to head the issue off with a comprehensive strategy.
- The homeowner took steps to head off any maintenance problems by scheduling regular inspections.