head off vs stave off

head off and stave off both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
head off	No	No	Yes	No
stave off	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, head off and stave off are synonyms defined as:

head off and stave off: prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; to protect from or to keep away anything undesirable; to ward off

Other synonyms of head off include avert, avoid, debar, deflect, fend off, forefend, forfend, obviate, ward off.

head off (verb)	stave off (verb)
prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; to protect from or to keep away anything undesirable; to ward off	prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening; to protect from or to keep away anything undesirable; to ward off