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head off

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phrasal verb
Word Forms
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present tense
I/you/we/theyhead off
he/she/itheads off
present participleheading off
past tenseheaded off
past participleheaded off
  1. 1
    [transitive] to prevent something from taking place

    The police acted quickly and managed to head off a violent confrontation.

  2. 2
    [intransitive] informal to leave

    We should be heading off soon.

  3. 3
    [transitive] to prevent someone from going somewhere by getting in front of them

    Let’s try and head them off before they cross the bridge.

See also main entry: head

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