ENGLISH
REFERENCE

head out

phr. v..
B1 Intermediate Oxford Informal

phr. v.. to leave a place to go somewhere else.

phr. v.. to depart or begin a journey; often used to signal the intention to leave a current location for a specific destination.


SIMPLE

We should head out now to avoid the traffic.

CONTEXTUAL

After finishing their coffee, they decided to head out and explore the city center.

COMPLEX

The expedition team prepared to head out into the wilderness despite the warnings of an approaching storm.

Particles
out
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
head + out
Usage

often followed by 'to' or 'for' when mentioning a destination.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'leave' (more neutral) and 'set off' (implies a longer journey); 'head out' is very common in casual spoken English to announce a departure.

Pitfall

I am heading out the house.I am heading out of the house.when 'out' is used with a specific starting point like 'the house', the preposition 'of' is required, though 'head out' alone is fine.

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