count off
Idioms-
Count aloud from one end of a line of persons to the other, each person counting in turn. For example, The soldiers counted off one by one . This usage and the practice it describes come from the military.
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Place in a separate group by counting, as in The office counted off the telephone books for each delivery route .
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I counted off seventy paces as I walked the entire length.
From Literature
In the game against the Lakers on Friday, Russell Westbrook counted off 10 seconds as well — not silently, and got the violation called.
From Seattle Times
Two girls drawing a clock in chalk on the schoolyard pavement counted off one, two, three in Manx: nane, jees, tree.
From New York Times
Blackborrow peeled a page from the calendar in the wardroom every morning, counting off the days.
From Literature
“The Railroad fire, the Junction fire,” said Rebecca Casey, who runs recreational activities, counting off the reasons on her fingers.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
