head off

English

Verb

head off (third-person singular simple present heads off, present participle heading off, simple past and past participle headed off)

1. (intransitive) To begin moving away.

   We will head off on our holidays tomorrow.

2. (transitive) To intercept.

   Synonym: cut off

   The cavalry will head off the bandits at the pass.

   • 1978 February 11, Donald Cameron Scot, “Controversy and Boycott Must Continue”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 31, page 5:

     Spurred by her early successes and lack of reprisal, AB has now gone beyond her original stance against gays as teachers and is now advocating a federal law to outlaw gays […] And she just may succeed if we do not move now in a way that we have never moved, to head her off.

3. (transitive) To avoid the undesirable consequences of; to prevent.

   The government took steps to head off summertime shortages of gasoline.

   • 2017 February 27, Mure Dickie, Henry Mance, “Theresa May’s speech to head off Scottish independence poll”, in Financial Times‎^[1]:

     Theresa May will use a speech to the Scottish Conservative conference on Friday to try to head off growing nationalists’ demands for a second independence referendum.

   • 2023 June 9, Sam Jones, “Podemos and leftist alliance Sumar agree to run jointly in Spain’s snap election”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     Although the deal, announced hours before the deadline for registering coalitions expired, is intended to head off a split vote and to galvanise leftwing voters against the conservative People’s party (PP), which is leading the polls, there are enduring differences and tensions between Podemos and Sumar.

4. (intransitive) To start out.
   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 82, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 405:

     Perseus, St. George, Hercules, Jonah, and Vishnoo! there’s a member-roll for you! What club but the whaleman’s can head off like that?

5. (nautical) To turn away from the wind.

Derived terms

• head off at the pass

Related terms

• off-heading

Translations

to begin moving away

• Finnish: lähteä (fi)
• German: abhauen (de), starten (de)
• Spanish: echarse a andar

to intercept

• Finnish: torjua (fi), pysäyttää (fi), katkaista tie
• German: abfangen (de)

to avoid the undesirable consequence of

• Finnish: välttää (fi), estää (fi), torjua (fi)
• German: vermeiden (de), verhindern (de)