Phrasal verbs with off

Off is about moving away, or stopping: take off, set off, turn off the light, call off a meeting.

Practise: 8 questions with answers See all 24 by level

Phrasal verbs with off by level

A1–A24get off, take off, turn off
B111get off, put off, come off
B229get off, take off, put off
C1–C224come off, turn off, give off

Each meaning has its own level, from Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries and the Cambridge Dictionary, or our estimate (~) where they give none.

A1–A2The first ones to learn 4 meanings

get offget off somethingA2
leave a bus, train, plane, boat or bike
We got off the train one stop too early.
take offtake something offA2
remove clothes, shoes or glasses from your body
Please take off your shoes at the door.
take offtake offA2
leave the ground and start flying
Our plane took off an hour late.
turn offturn something offA2
make a light, machine or tap stop working
Please turn off your phones in the cinema.

B1Common, with a clear meaning 11 meanings

get offget off somethingB1
finish work and leave at the end of the day
What time do you get off work on Fridays?
get offget off somebody or somethingB1
move away from something or stop touching someone
Get off the sofa, Max! You’re all wet.
put offput something offB1
decide to do something later than you planned
We put off the trip until spring.
come offcome off somethingB1
become separated from the thing it was fixed to
A button came off my coat.
go offgo offB1
leave a place to go somewhere else
He went off without saying goodbye.
go offgo offB1
stop working, for a light or a machine
The lights went off in the whole street.
set offset offB1
start a journey
We set off early to miss the traffic.
keep offkeep something offB1
not walk on something or touch it
The sign says “Keep off the grass.”
drop offdrop somebody or something offB1
take someone or something somewhere by car and leave them there
I’ll drop you off at the station on my way.
switch offswitch something offB1
make a light or machine stop working by pressing a button
Please switch off your phones during the film.
switch offswitch offB1
stop paying attention, or stop thinking about work and relax
When he talks about football, I just switch off.

B2Second meanings and more idiomatic ones 29 meanings

get offget offB2
get only a small punishment, or none at all
He broke the law but got off with a small fine.
take offtake offB2
suddenly become successful or popular
Her online shop really took off last year.
take offtake somebody or something offB2
have time away from work
I’m taking Friday off to move house.
put offput somebody offB2
make someone dislike something or not want to do it
The smell put me off my food.
put offput somebody offB2
stop someone from thinking about what they are doing
Please stop talking. You’re putting me off!
come offcome off somebody or somethingB2
fall from a bike, a horse or a board
She came off her bike on the ice.
come offcome offB2
seem to be a certain way to other people
He comes off as a bit rude in emails.
go offgo offB2
start ringing loudly, like an alarm, or explode, like a bomb
My alarm went off at six.
go offgo offB2
become bad and not safe to eat or drink
This milk has gone off.
go offgo off somebody or somethingB2
stop liking someone or something
I’ve gone off coffee lately.
turn offturn off somethingB2
leave a road and go onto another one
Turn off at the next exit.
give offgive something offB2
produce a smell, heat, light or gas
The fire gave off a lot of smoke.
run offrun offB2
leave a place or person suddenly, often without saying why
The kids ran off to play as soon as we arrived.
work offwork something offB2
get rid of a feeling, energy or food you ate by doing physical activity
I went for a run to work off my anger.
hold offhold offB2
not start yet, used for rain or bad weather
Luckily, the rain held off until we got home.
cut offcut something offB2
remove a part of something by cutting it
Cut off the crusts if the kids don’t like them.
cut offcut somebody or something offB2
stop the supply of something, like gas, water or money
They’ll cut off our electricity if we don’t pay.
cut offcut something offB2
make a place impossible to reach or leave
The village was cut off by snow for a week.
cut offcut somebody offB2
stop someone speaking, or end a phone call suddenly
Sorry, we got cut off. My battery died.
keep offkeep off somethingB2
not eat, drink or use something that is bad for you
The doctor told me to keep off fatty food.
call offcall something offB2
decide that a planned event will not happen
They called off the match because of the snow.
show offshow offB2
try too hard to make people admire you
He’s only riding with no hands to show off.
drop offdrop offB2
fall asleep, especially without planning to
I dropped off in front of the TV again.
drop offdrop offB2
become less in number or amount
Sales usually drop off after Christmas.
rip offrip something offB2
pull something off quickly and roughly
The kids ripped off the wrapping paper in seconds.
see offsee somebody offB2
go to the airport or station with someone to say goodbye
My whole family came to the airport to see me off.
wear offwear offB2
slowly become weaker and then stop, like a feeling or the effect of a drug
The painkiller is starting to wear off.
wear offwear offB2
slowly disappear from a surface because it is rubbed or used
The letters on my keyboard have worn off.
write offwrite something offB2
damage a car so badly that it is not worth fixing (UK)
He wrote off his dad’s car the week after he passed his test.

C1–C2Less common and more formal 24 meanings

come offcome offC1
happen as planned, or be successful
The plan didn’t come off.
turn offturn somebody offC1
make someone lose interest or feel disgust
The loud music really turned me off.
give offgive something offC1
seem to have a quality others can feel
She gives off a calm, friendly feeling.
set offset something offC2
make an alarm ring or a bomb or fireworks explode
Burnt toast set off the smoke alarm again.
set offset somebody or something offC2
make something start to happen, or make someone start to laugh or cry
His joke set everyone off laughing.
run offrun something offC1
print copies of something quickly
Could you run off twenty copies of this page?
run offrun offC1
flow off a surface, like rain from a roof
The rain runs off the roof into the garden.
work offwork something offC1
pay back a debt by working instead of paying money
He worked off the loan by helping in his uncle’s shop.
hold offhold offC2
wait before you do something or make a decision
I’d hold off on buying a phone until the sales.
keep offkeep off somethingC1
avoid talking about a subject
At dinner, let’s keep off politics.
call offcall something offC1
order people or a dog to stop searching or attacking
Police called off the search when it got dark.
show offshow somebody or something offC2
show people something you are proud of
She couldn’t wait to show off her new car.
show offshow something offC1
make something look its best
That blue dress really shows off your eyes.
lay offlay somebody or something offC2
stop employing workers because there is not enough work or money
The factory laid off two hundred workers last month.
lay offlay off somebody or somethingC1
stop doing or using something, or stop annoying someone
You should lay off the coffee for a while.
pay offpay offC1
be successful and bring good results
All that practice finally paid off. She won!
pay offpay something offC1
pay all the money you owe on a debt
We paid off the house when I was forty.
pay offpay somebody offC1
give someone money so they do something dishonest or stay quiet
The boss paid off the inspector.
rip offrip somebody or something offC1
make someone pay too much for something (informal)
That taxi driver ripped us off. It’s only two kilometres!
rip offrip something offC2
copy or steal someone’s idea or work (informal)
The band ripped off an old song and called it new.
see offsee somebody or something offC1
make someone go away, or beat them in a game (UK)
The farmer saw off the foxes with his dog.
tell offtell somebody offC1
speak angrily to someone because they did something wrong
Mum told me off for coming home late.
write offwrite something offC1
accept that money is lost and will not be paid back
The bank wrote off the small debt.
write offwrite somebody or something offC2
decide that someone or something will not be successful or useful
Everyone had written the team off, but they won the cup.

Phrasal verbs with off that people mix up

Close in meaning, but not the same.

put off or call off?
put off: decide to do something later than you planned.
call off: cancel. It will not happen at all.
turn off or switch off?
turn off: make a light, machine or tap stop working.
switch off: means the same.
hold off or put off?
hold off: wait before you do something or make a decision.
put off: move something to a later time.

Phrasal verbs with off: exercise with answers

Eight questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.

1I _____ the whole day as a waste.
2He _____ the loan by helping in his uncle’s shop.
3Get _____ the sofa, Max! You’re all wet. (move away from something or stop touching someone)
4Which is correct? (make someone dislike something or not want to do it)
5She _____ a few flyers for the bake sale.
6Taking a risk doesn’t always pay off. What does it mean here?
7Don’t go _____ on your own in the forest. (leave a place to go somewhere else)
8Police _____ the search when it got dark.

Phrasal verbs with off: FAQ

How many phrasal verbs with off are there?

Dictionaries list many more, but these 24 are the ones learners meet most, with 68 meanings between them. Each has its own page with examples, common mistakes and a short quiz.

What are the most common phrasal verbs with off?

Start with the A1 and A2 ones: get off, take off, turn off. Then the B1 ones, which are common in everyday conversation.

Which phrasal verbs with off are separable?

19 of them have at least one separable meaning, where the object can go in the middle: take off, put off, turn off, give off, set off, run off. With a pronoun like it or them, the object must go in the middle.

More phrasal verbs, by group

Or see all of them in the phrasal verbs list.

By main verb

get 19 put 11 take 10 come 15 turn 11 go 16 look 13 give 6 run 8 bring 7 fall 6 keep 6

By particle

up 65 out 55offdown 25 on 22 in 21