Phrasal verb with off: The main meanings of off, common examples and how to use them correctly

A phrasal verb with off combines a verb with the particle off, and the meaning often involves leaving, removing, stopping, delaying, ending or finishing something. Take off can describe a plane leaving the ground, a coat being removed or a business becoming successful, while put off can mean to postpone or to discourage. Because off appears in many everyday phrases, learners meet these verb in conversation, at work and in exams, and they need to study each phrase with an example.

This article explains the main meanings that off adds to a verb, lists common phrasal verb grouped by meaning with example sentences, covers the word order rules for objects, and shows typical mistakes, followed by exercises with answers.

What the particle off adds to a verb: Seven common meanings

The particle off does not have one fixed meaning. It adds one of several ideas, and recognizing the idea helps you understand phrasal verb that you have not met before.

Common phrasal verb with off grouped by meaning, with example sentences

Phrasal verb with off that mean leaving or starting a journey

• set off: start a journey. We set off at six in the morning.
• take off: leave the ground. The plane takes off in ten minutes.
• see off: go with someone to say goodbye. We saw her off at the station.
• drop off: leave a person or thing somewhere. I will drop the children off at school.
• head off: begin to go somewhere. They headed off toward the beach.

Phrasal verb with off that mean removing or separating

• take off: remove clothing. Please take off your shoes.
• cut off: separate or stop a supply. The storm cut off the electricity.
• break off: separate a piece or end suddenly. She broke off a piece of bread. They broke off the talks.
• get off: leave a bus, train or plane. We got off at the next stop.

Phrasal verb with off that mean stopping a machine or a supply

• turn off: stop a machine or light. Please turn off the TV.
• switch off: stop a machine, or stop paying attention. I switch off when he talks about football.
• shut off: stop a supply or a machine. The company shut off the water.

Phrasal verb with off that mean delaying or cancelling

• put off: postpone. They put off the meeting until Friday.
• call off: cancel. The match was called off because of the rain.
• hold off: wait before doing something. Let’s hold off buying a car.

Phrasal verb with off that mean completing or paying

• pay off: pay a debt completely, or give a good result. She paid off her loan. Hard work pays off.
• finish off: complete the last part. Let’s finish off the report.
• polish off: finish food or work quickly. He polished off the pizza.

Phrasal verb with off that mean rejecting, discouraging or scolding

• put off: discourage or cause dislike. The smell put me off the food.
• turn off: cause disgust or loss of interest (informal). Rude behavior turns me off.
• tell off: scold. The teacher told him off for being late.
• brush off: ignore or dismiss. She brushed off the criticism.
• laugh off: treat something serious as unimportant. He laughed off the mistake.
• show off: display skills or possessions to impress. He likes to show off in front of his friends.
• back off: retreat or stop pressuring someone. Back off, please.

Phrasal verb with off that mean beginning or causing something suddenly

• go off: ring or explode. The alarm went off at six.
• kick off: begin. The festival kicks off on Saturday.
• set off: cause an alarm or a reaction. The smoke set off the alarm.

Other useful phrasal verb with off

• doze off / nod off: fall asleep lightly. He dozed off during the film.
• write off: cancel a debt, or treat as lost. The insurance company wrote off the car. Don’t write him off yet.
• rip off: cheat or overcharge (informal). The shop ripped us off.

Take off, put off, turn off and go off: verb with several meanings

Some phrasal verb with off have more than one meaning, and the context shows which one is used.

Examples: Sales took off after the advert. Don’t put me off while I’m working. Turn off the highway at the next exit. The milk has gone off.

Separable and inseparable phrasal verb with off: Where the object goes

The pronoun rule for separable verb

When the object is a pronoun such as it, them or him, it must go between the verb and off.

Examples: Please turn it off. (not “Please turn off it.”) They called it off. The teacher told him off.

Off and off of: Which form to use in careful writing

In careful writing, use off alone and not off of. Write He jumped off the wall, not He jumped off of the wall. The form off of appears in informal American speech but is considered nonstandard in formal writing.

Common mistakes with phrasal verb with off and how to fix them

• Putting a pronoun after the particle. Writing Please turn off it instead of Please turn it off.
• Confusing off and of. Writing The meeting was put of until Friday instead of The meeting was put off until Friday.
• Using off of. Writing I got off of the bus instead of I got off the bus.
• Mixing up put off and turn off. Put off usually means to postpone, while turn off usually means to stop a machine, though both can describe discouraging someone.
• Using the wrong particle for cancelling. Writing They called out the match instead of They called off the match.
• Forgetting the passive meaning. Writing The students told off instead of The students were told off.

Exercises with phrasal verb with off and answers

Exercise 1: Complete each sentence with the correct phrasal verb with off

Use: take off, set off, turn off, call off, tell off, show off, pay off. Change the form where necessary.

1. The plane will ______ in ten minutes.
2. Please ______ the lights when you leave.
3. They decided to ______ the match because of the storm.
4. We need to ______ early to avoid the traffic.
5. The teacher ______ the boy for being late.
6. Her hard work finally ______.
7. She loves to ______ her new car to her friends.

Sample answers: 1. take off – 2. turn off – 3. call off – 4. set off – 5. told off – 6. paid off – 7. show off

Exercise 2: Choose the meaning of each underlined phrasal verb

1. The alarm went off at six. (rang / stopped)
2. The smell put me off the food. (discouraged me / made me hungry)
3. The milk has gone off. (become bad / been delivered)

Sample answers: 1. rang – 2. discouraged me – 3. become bad

Exercise 3: Find and correct the error in each sentence

1. Please turn off it. → correct to Please turn it off.
2. They called off it. → correct to They called it off.
3. The meeting was put of until Friday. → correct to The meeting was put off until Friday.
4. I got off of the bus. → correct to I got off the bus.
5. She told off him. → correct to She told him off.

Tips for learning phrasal verb with off

• Learn the meaning of off first. Knowing the seven ideas above helps you understand new verb.
• Study multi-meaning verb separately. Write one example for each meaning of take off and put off.
• Learn the object rule with each verb. Note whether a verb is separable when you first learn it.
• Notice them in real texts. Underline phrasal verb in news, films and conversations.
• Write your own examples. A sentence from your own life is easier to remember than a definition.

A phrasal verb with off can describe leaving, removing, stopping, delaying, finishing, scolding or beginning something. Grouping the verb by these meanings makes them easier to remember, and the pronoun rule for separable verb avoids a common error. Remember that take off and put off have several meanings, and use context to decide which one fits.

See also: Collocation in English: What it means, the main types and how to learn them

Frequently asked questions about phrasal verb with off

What does take off mean in everyday English?

Take off has several meanings. It can mean to remove clothing, as in “Take off your coat,” for a plane to leave the ground, as in “The plane took off,” or for something to become successful quickly, as in “Sales took off.”

What is the difference between put off and call off?

Put off means to postpone, as in “They put off the meeting until Friday.” Call off means to cancel, as in “They called off the meeting.” One delays the event, and the other ends it.

Is it correct to say get off of the bus?

In formal writing, use get off the bus. The form off of is common in informal American speech, but it is considered nonstandard in careful writing.

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• phrasal verb with off