The Collaborative International Dictionary
Head \Head\ (h[e^]d), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Headed; p. pr. & vb. n. Heading.]
To be at the head of; to put one's self at the head of; to lead; to direct; to act as leader to; as, to head an army, an expedition, or a riot.
--Dryden.To form a head to; to fit or furnish with a head; as, to head a nail.
--Spenser.To behead; to decapitate. [Obs.]
--Shak.To cut off the top of; to lop off; as, to head trees.
To go in front of; to get in the front of, so as to hinder or stop; to oppose; hence, to check or restrain; as, to head a drove of cattle; to head a person; the wind heads a ship.
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To set on the head; as, to head a cask. To head off, to intercept; to get before; as, an officer heads off a thief who is escaping. ``We'll head them off at the pass.'' To head up,
to close, as a cask or barrel, by fitting a head to.
To serve as the leader of; as, to head up a team of investigators.
Usage examples of "to head off".
Indeed, some recent historians suggest that the Hartford Convention was actually a (successful) attempt by moderate Federalists to head off radical Federalist attempts to bring about a secession movement.
He cast about for ways to head off the catastrophe he saw looming ahead.
If there were archers hidden above and they recognized him as belonging to me, they might well have taken a chance of putting an arrow in him so as to head off any possibility of their presence being tipped.
She instantly assumed a mask of indifference and volleyed into questions to head off a potential verbal sully.
Their unstated purpose was to attempt to place some control over the sexual behaviour of their growing sons and daughters, in order to head off the sort of tragedy I ran into with Priscilla and Donald.
I came here with those two ships out there to head off the armada.