head offverb

• 1

  To begin moving away.

  • We will head off on our holidays tomorrow.
• 2

  To intercept.

  • The cavalry will head off the bandits at the pass.
  • 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

  To avoid the undesirable consequences of; to prevent.

  • The government took steps to head off summertime shortages of gasoline.
  • 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.
• 4

  To start out.

  • 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

  nauticaltransportTo turn away from the wind.