get off

verb

got off; got off or gotten off; getting off; gets off

intransitive verb

1

: to avoid the most serious consequences of a dangerous situation or punishment

got off with a light sentence

2

: start, leave

got off on the trip early

3

: to leave work with permission or as scheduled

4

: to get high on a drug

5

: to experience orgasm

6

: to experience great pleasure

—often used with on

transitive verb

1

: to secure the release of or procure a modified penalty for

his lawyers got him off

2

a

: utter

get off a joke

b

: to write and send

3

: to succeed in doing, making, or delivering

4

: to cause to get off

Synonyms

• bail
• bail out
• begone
• book [slang]
• bug off
• bug out
• bugger off [British slang]
• buzz (off)
• clear off [chiefly British]
• clear out
• cut out
• depart
• dig out
• exit
• get
• go
• go off
• move
• pack (up or off)
• part
• peel off
• pike (out or off)
• pull out
• push off
• push on
• quit
• run along
• sally (forth)
• scarper [British]
• shove (off)
• step (along)
• take off
• vamoose
• walk out

Examples of get off in a Sentence

told him to get off for home before it got dark

breakfast helps you get off to a good start in the morning

Recent Examples on the Web

Although Sunday got off to a chilly start temperatures will rebound to 34 degrees in the afternoon. —Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 26 Jan. 2025

Officers called a tow truck to help Pan get off of the tracks. —Emma Steele, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2025

Knowing how to stake up citrus trees properly ensures your orange, grapefruit, and lemon trees get off to a strong start for a long and fruitful life. —Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Jan. 2025

And in the two Super Bowls the Giants got off Brady and the Patriots, Eli Manning threw just one interception. —Mike Lupica, Orlando Sentinel, 25 Jan. 2025

The 2025 session got off to a rough start on Jan. 14 when Democrats, upset with Republicans for using what may be a temporary one-seat advantage to act as a majority, were a no-show on the first day in what now appears to be a successful push to deny Republicans a quorum. —Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 24 Jan. 2025

Throw in revenue growth that’s gone nowhere for the better part of a decade and a dividend that accounts for a high 65% of KHC’s last 12 months of free cash flow (FCF), and the chances of this payout getting off the mat, and giving the share price a lift, are slim. —Brett Owens, Forbes, 22 Jan. 2025

Van der Lugt thinks the pessimist’s is more motivating and sees a danger in the optimist’s, because if things look so generally bright, why should anyone get off the couch? —Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2025

HOAs often get off track on their annual meeting dates. —Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

get off

verb

1

: set out sense 2

got off on their camping trip

2

: to escape or help to escape punishment or harm