doff

[ dof, dawf ]
See synonyms for doff on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to remove or take off, as clothing.

  2. to remove or tip (the hat), as in greeting.

  1. to throw off; get rid of: Doff your stupid ideas and join our side!

  2. Textiles.

    • to strip (carded fiber) from a carding machine.

    • to remove (full bobbins, material, etc.) from a textile machine.

noun
  1. Textiles.

    • the act of removing bobbins, material, etc., and stripping fibers from a textile machine.

    • the material so doffed.

Origin of doff

1
1300–50; Middle English, contraction of do off;cf. don1

Words Nearby doff

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use doff in a sentence

  • Daniel was obliged to doff his black coat and put on a blue one, made for a much smaller man, and then he appeared amongst us.

  • The task is now 12 doffs a day—each doff requiring a change of 208 bobbins.

    Making Both Ends Meet | Sue Ainslie Clark and Edith Wyatt
  • Then, when it came my turn, I would doff my hat to the earth and beg pardon for continuing a comparatively futile existence.

    The O'Ruddy | Stephen Crane
  • With cheers of relief we were permitted to doff our bulky life belts.

    Company B, 307th Infantry | Julius Klausner

British Dictionary definitions for doff

doff

/ (dɒf) /


verb(tr)
  1. to take off or lift (one's hat) in salutation

  2. to remove (clothing)

Origin of doff

1
Old English dōn of; see do 1, off; compare don 1

Derived forms of doff

  • doffer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012