take off
Britishverb
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(tr) to remove or discard (a garment)
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(intr) (of an aircraft) to become airborne
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informal to set out or cause to set out on a journey
they took off for Spain
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(tr) (of a disease) to prove fatal to; kill
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informal (tr) to mimic or imitate, esp in an amusing or satirical manner
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informal (intr) to become successful or popular, esp suddenly
noun
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the act or process of making an aircraft airborne
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the stage of a country's economic development when rapid and sustained economic growth is first achieved
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informal an act of mimicry; imitation
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Remove, as in Take off your coat and stay for a while , or I took my foot off the brake . [c. 1300]
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Deduct, decrease, as in He took 20 percent off the original price , or I want you to trim my hair, but please don't take off too much . [c. 1700]
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Carry or take away, as in The passengers were taken off one by one . [Late 1800s]
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Also, take oneself off . Leave, go away, as in I'm taking off now , or We take ourselves off for China next month , or, as an imperative, Take yourself off right now! [First half of 1800s]
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Move forward quickly, as in The dog took off after the car .
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Become well known or popular, or achieve sudden growth, as in That actor's career has really taken off , or Sales took off around the holidays . [Mid-1900s]
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Rise in flight, as in The airplane took off on time . [Mid-1800s]
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Discontinue, as in The railroad took off the commuter special . [Mid-1700s]
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Imitate humorously or satirically, as in He had a way of taking off the governor that made us howl with laughter . [Mid-1700s]
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Withhold service, as in I'm taking off from work today because of the funeral . [First half of 1900s]
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.
A 2013 push by Google failed to take off but Meta's smart spectacles, developed in partnership with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica, have fared much better.
From Barron's ● Sep. 12, 2026
At 4:30 a.m., as we were about to take off on the first riding day, a man named Wayne emerged from the dark near the port-a-potties and asked: “May I pray for you?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
One ankle-twisting stutter-step is all it took for the true freshman to take off, once again.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
Some say they sound like a jet plane about to take off, others complain of a high-pitched whine.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The giant robot pelican suit rocked backward, both Normans squawking simultaneously and having to take off in order not to fall.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
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.
