1
as in to depart
to leave a place often for another
I can only stay for a few minutes, and then I'll need to take off again
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to remove
to rid oneself of (a garment)
take off your coat and stay awhile
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to subtract
to take away (an amount or number) from a total
the store will take an additional 20% off if you bring in this coupon
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to rob
slang
to remove valuables from (a place) unlawfully
a gangbanger who decided to take off some fast-food joint
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1
2
as in parody
a work that imitates and exaggerates another work for comic effect
a sitcom that's a takeoff of an old TV show from the 1960s
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of take off
Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
Unitas took off for the goal line.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 Jan. 2026
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 1 Jan. 2026
In June, An Air India flight with 230 passengers and 12 crew onboard crashed in Ahmedabad, India, shortly after takeoff, killing all but one passenger on board that flight.
—Ayesha Ali, ABC News, 29 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for take off
Verb
Now, if this team takes off in the standings, earns home court in the first round of the playoffs, then maybe the thought process changes.
—Noun
Even if the demogorgon effects were vastly improved and the show occasionally found creative things to do with them — or entirely not-creative things, like the Jurassic Park takeoff that abandoned homage for straight-up mimicry.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for take off
Verb
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After someone threw an object at a departing police vehicle’s back window and broke it, police launched 40-mm projectiles and chemical munitions.—
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The transfer portal, which opened Friday, allows programs to accelerate the rebuilding process and replace departing players — more than 20 in Florida’s case.—
Verb
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Everglades restoration involves removing as many of these dams as possible without risking flood control, while adding more reservoirs for water storage, all to revive a river of grass that flows once more.—
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Staff immediately removed him from his cell and provided medical aid.—
Verb
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In physics — or most of physics, at any rate — energy differences are what really matters, and with care physicists can subtract one infinity from another to see what’s left.—
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The Patriots went just 17 yards after the turnover, with 15 yards subtracted by penalties.—
Verb
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But Gallagher couldn’t bear robbing the audience — and Marissa — of the satisfaction of his downfall.—
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An 88-year-old Seattle woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after a man violently assaulted and robbed her, biting off her finger and stealing her jewelry, police say.—
Noun
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Much like Blue Origin’s chief competitor, SpaceX — which has long been a dominant force in the commercial launch business — Blue Origin rockets are designed to be partially reused in order to drive down costs.—
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The latter has grown into a dominant force in pay-TV, racking up 10 million subscribers just eight years after its launch.—
Noun
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The three-year Off-Broadway hit is a parody of the classic film Titanic, imagining the story as if Celine Dion were narrating it.—
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Maduro played the song at so many events that Chavistas (or Maduro supporters) began to claim it as pro-Maduro, even though Santana made it as a parody of the president.—
Verb
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Enrollment Though still growing overall, state economists reported in early January that K-12 enrollment numbers were nearly 42,500 lower than predicted, with signs of continuing downward trends moving forward.—
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Researchers at the University of Manchester, led by Professor Thomas Anthopoulos, have successfully stabilized perovskite solar cells, which could help move the low-cost technology into the global mass market.—
Verb
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Experts attribute the drop-off to rising costs and economic uncertainty, as Americans are increasingly putting off travel plans or opting for road trips over flights.—
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Rochelle, busy with the kids, classes and a reporter shadowing her daily life, put off a reply until a slower day.—
Cite this Entry
“Take off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/take%20off. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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