work off
Britishverb
-
to get rid of or dissipate, as by effort
he worked off some of his energy by digging the garden
-
to discharge (a debt) by labour rather than payment
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.
What to Do: Rent a pontoon boat on Lake Wallenpaupack, then work off the camp-candy crash with a hike through Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
Sanchez added in Cyprus that "we don't work on the basis of emails, we work off official documents and the position that the United States government has set out in this case".
From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026
She scored in the final of the Euros and found her groove for her club, playing a crucial role throughout the season in front of goal and with her work off the ball.
From BBC • Sep. 22, 2025
Boy Kavalier forces Hermit to become his employee in exchange for remaining with his sister, and so he can work off the cost of an artificial lung Prodigy put inside him to save his life.
From Salon • Aug. 31, 2025
And so I run harder, trying to stop thinking, turn off my mind, get the endorphins flowing, the heart pounding, and work off what I couldn’t while sitting on the bench.
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
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.
