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ward off

British  

verb

  1. (tr, adverb) to turn aside or repel; avert

"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
ward off Idioms  

  1. Turn aside, parry, as in He tried to ward off her blows . [Second half of 1500s]

  2. Try to prevent, avert, as in She took vitamin C to ward off a cold . [Mid-1700s]

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.

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