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lift off

Idioms  

  1. Begin flight, as in The spacecraft was due to lift off at ten o'clock. The off in this idiom means “off the ground.” [Late 1800s]

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.

Lift off the foil and bake for 10 minutes more.

From The Guardian • Apr. 23, 2016

Lift off the top shell, rinse out the fat and viscera and pull off the opaque gills. 

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2014

Lift off the pressure of command from so many millions; all pressure or binding rule, except such melodramatic Federation Oath as they have bound themselves with!

From The French Revolution by Carlyle, Thomas

Lift off the roof, insert and secure AAAA, and nail on the end boards.

From Things To Make by Williams, Archibald

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.