make off
Britishverb
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(intr, adverb) to go or run away in haste
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to steal or abduct
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Depart in haste, run away, as in The cat took one look at Richard and made off . [c. 1700]
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make off with . Take something away; also, steal something, as in I can't write it down; Tom made off with my pen , or The burglars made off with the stereo and computer as well as jewelry . [Early 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.
But when they opened the door to try to make off with the car, his private security—an armed former New York City police officer—was sitting in the front seat.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
It's not just wild elephants they are worried about but animals like wild boars, tigers, bison and monkeys that make off with their cattle and eat their crops.
From BBC • Feb. 22, 2024
“It was about jewelry, so it’s a bit different,” said Ms. Carlier, who will be showing medieval and Renaissance works, ones that are harder to make off with.
From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2023
"This is a very difficult case to make off the phone call," Christie began.
From Salon • Mar. 1, 2023
“Hazel,” he said, “I’ve just realized where we are and it’s a lot too close to Efrafa. I think we ought to make off as soon as we can.”
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
