get off
Britishverb
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(intr, adverb) to escape the consequences of an action
he got off very lightly in the accident
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(adverb) to be or cause to be acquitted
a good lawyer got him off
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(adverb) to depart or cause to depart
to get the children off to school
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(intr) to descend (from a bus, train, etc); dismount
she got off at the terminus
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to move or cause to move to a distance (from)
get off the field
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(tr, adverb) to remove; take off
get your coat off
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(adverb) to go or send to sleep
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(adverb) to send (letters) or (of letters) to be sent
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slang (intr, adverb) to become high on or as on heroin or some other drug
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informal to establish an amorous or sexual relationship with
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informal to rebuke or criticize someone harshly
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Dismount, leave a vehicle, as in She got off the horse right away , or Let's get off the train at the next stop . [Late 1600s]
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Start, as on a trip; leave. For example, We got off at the crack of dawn . [Mid-1700s]
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Fire a round of ammunition; also, send away. For example, He got off two shots, but the deer fled , or I got off that letter just in time .
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Escape from punishment; also, obtain a lesser penalty or release for someone. For example, He apologized so profusely that he was sure to get off , or The attorney got her client off with a slap on the wrist . This sense is sometimes amplified to get off easy or get off lightly . Where there is no punishment at all, the expression is sometimes put as get off scot-free , originally meaning “be free from paying a fine or tax ( scot ),” dating from the 1500s. [Mid-1600s]
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Remove, take off, as in I can't seem to get this paint off the car . [Second half of 1600s]
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Succeed in uttering, especially a joke. For example, Carl always manages to get off a good one before he gets serious . [Mid-1800s]
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Have the effrontery to do or say something. For example, Where does he get off telling me what to do? [ Colloquial ; early 1900s]
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Experience orgasm, as in She never did get off . [ Slang ; first half of 1900s]
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Also, get off of one . Stop bothering or criticizing one, as in Get off me right now! or If you don't get off of me I'm walking out . [ Slang ; c. 1940] Also see get off on ; off one's back .
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.
This year, Download looks set to get off to a wet start with rainy spells and possibly thunder on both Wednesday and Thursday, though there will still be periods of sunshine.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
“It makes me sick. I want to vomit. If they want to help me, then help me get off welfare by paying a decent wage.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
“As people get older and older, they can’t get off the floor,” he says.
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
In Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America,” Roy M. Cohn, trying to assuage an angry client he can’t get off the phone, offers theater tickets to a show he knows that this annoying rube will like.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
When I get off the bus, I'm surprised to find that 1440 North Main Street is a busy office building.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
