send-off

[ send-awf, -of ]

/ ˈsɛndˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR send-off ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a demonstration of good wishes for a person setting out on a trip, career, or other venture: They gave him a rousing send-off at the pier.

a start given to a person or thing.

QUIZZES

TAKE ROUND 2 OF OUR PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ!

Here is our second set of teacher-selected PSAT vocabulary words. Do you know the meanings of these terms?

Question 1 of 10

advocate

to give up possession or occupancy of.

to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly.

to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of send-off

1855–60, Americanism; noun use of verb phrase send off

Words nearby send-off

send out, send round, send someone about his or her business, send someone packing, send up, send-off, send-up, sendai, sendai virus, sendak, sendal

Definition for sendoff (2 of 2)

send¹

[ send ]

/ sɛnd /

verb (used with object), sent, send·ing.

to cause, permit, or enable to go: to send a messenger; They sent their son to college.

to cause to be conveyed or transmitted to a destination: to send a letter.

to order, direct, compel, or force to go: The president sent troops to Asia.

to direct, propel, or deliver to a particular point, position, condition, or direction: to send a punch to the jaw; The punch sent the fighter reeling.

to emit, discharge, or utter (usually followed by off, out, or through): The lion sent a roar through the jungle.

to cause to occur or befall: The people beseeched Heaven to send peace to their war-torn village.

Electricity.

to transmit (a signal).
to transmit (an electromagnetic wave or the like) in the form of pulses.

Slang. to delight or excite: Frank Sinatra's records used to send her.

verb (used without object), sent, send·ing.

to dispatch a messenger, agent, message, etc.

Electricity. to transmit a signal: The ship's radio sends on a special band of frequencies.

Verb Phrases

send down, British. to expel, especially from Oxford or Cambridge.

send for, to request the coming or delivery of; summon: If her temperature goes up, send for the doctor.

send forth,

to produce; bear; yield: plants sending forth new leaves.
to dispatch out of a country as an export.
to issue, as a publication: They have sent forth a report to the stockholders.
to emit or discharge: The flowers sent forth a sweet odor.

send in, to cause to be dispatched or delivered to a destination: Send in your contest entries to this station.

send off, to cause to depart or to be conveyed from oneself; dispatch; dismiss: His teacher sent him off to the principal's office.

send out,

to distribute; issue.
to send on the way; dispatch: They sent out their final shipment last week.
to order delivery: We sent out for coffee.

send up,

to release or cause to go upward; let out.
Informal. to sentence or send to prison: He was convicted and sent up for life.
to expose the flaws or foibles of through parody, burlesque, caricature, lampoon, or other forms of satire: The new movie sends up merchants who commercialize Christmas.

Origin of send

before 900; Middle English senden, Old English sendan; cognate with German senden, Gothic sandjan (causative) < Germanic base *sinth-, *santh- go, whence Old English sīth journey, sand message, messenger

SYNONYMS FOR send

2 transmit, dispatch, forward.

4 cast, hurl, fling, project.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR send ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR send

1 receive.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR send ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM send

send·a·ble, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH send

scend send

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for sendoff

In the end, it was just what we signed up for: a big, splashy British sendoff that will put us into instant Olympic withdrawal.
The Spice Girls Reunite for Closing Ceremony; Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell Take The Stage|Isabel Wilkinson|August 13, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Unlike other students, however, she got a sendoff from the commander in chief.
Intern's Memoir Details Affair With President Kennedy|Matthew DeLuca|February 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It was a far cry from the sendoff for Gen. Colin Powell in a 1993 ceremony that drew two presidents and the defense Secretary.
Did the White House Snub Petraeus?|John Barry|September 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Perkins was by far the most heralded—800 people attended her sendoff dinner in New York and showered her with loving tributes.
The Heroine of the New Deal|Christine Stansell|March 3, 2009|DAILY BEAST

Whit like a sendoff did yer wuman gie ye, Sandy, when ye left for France?
Funny Stories Told By The Soldiers|Carleton B. Case

British Dictionary definitions for sendoff (1 of 3)

sendoff

/ (ˈsɛndˌɒf) /

noun informal

a demonstration of good wishes to a person about to set off on a journey, new career, etc

a start, esp an auspicious one, to a venture

verb send off (tr, adverb)

to cause to depart; despatch

sport (of the referee) to dismiss (a player) from the field of play for some offence

informal to give a sendoff to

British Dictionary definitions for sendoff (2 of 3)

send¹

/ (sɛnd) /

verb sends, sending or sent

(tr) to cause or order (a person or thing) to be taken, directed, or transmitted to another placeto send a letter; she sent the salesman away

(when intr, foll by for;; when tr, takes an infinitive) to dispatch a request or command (for something or to do something)he sent for a bottle of wine; he sent to his son to come home

(tr) to direct or cause to go to a place or pointhis blow sent the champion to the floor

(tr) to bring to a state or conditionthis noise will send me mad

(tr; often foll by forth, out, etc) to cause to issue; emithis cooking sent forth a lovely smell from the kitchen

(tr) to cause to happen or comemisery sent by fate

to transmit (a message) by radio, esp in the form of pulses

(tr) slang to move to excitement or rapturethis music really sends me

send someone about his business to dismiss or get rid of someone

send someone packing to dismiss or get rid of (someone) peremptorily

noun

another word for swash (def. 4)

Derived forms of send

sendable, adjectivesender, noun

Word Origin for send

Old English sendan; related to Old Norse senda, Gothic sandjan, Old High German senten

British Dictionary definitions for sendoff (3 of 3)

send²

/ (sɛnd) /

verb, noun sends, sending or sent

a variant spelling of scend

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

send-off

noun

QUIZZES

TAKE ROUND 2 OF OUR PSAT VOCABULARY QUIZ!

Origin of send-off

Words nearby send-off