fire off

Idioms  

1. Say or write and send away rapidly, as in He fired off three more questions, or She fired off a letter of complaint to the president. This expression originally (from about 1700) was, and still is, used in the sense of “discharge a weapon or ammunition,” as in The police were instructed to fire off canisters of tear gas. The figurative use dates from the late 1800s.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fire off

There must be no prep involved, so they can just show up to the set and fire off some lines, right?

From Salon ● Jul. 12, 2026

That’s all it took for the Seattle Storm’s Flau’jae Johnson to fire off a 27-foot three-point jumper to take the lead.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

She may not be fun, but she does fire off sparks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025

Jerry Stiller was protective of his son’s showbiz ambitions, so much so that if a critic gave Ben a bad review, Jerry would sit down and fire off a letter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2025

Under orders from Mayor Clarkson, a militia company from nearby Fort Mifflin was hauling a small cannon along the streets of Philadelphia, stopping every few yards to fire off another blast.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy