to click off
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
terminar rápidamente
- The technician clicked off the device once the test was complete and moved on to the next one.
Examples
-
He clicked off a roll of snapshots as the hit squad retreated.
Fiction book (1996) -
We were still clicking off their lap time with the plan.
-
The ever-patient Moore waited for an opening in mid-stretch from which George Vancouver powered through on his way to clicking off the final two furlongs in 11.83 and 11.43, winning by a length and a half at the wire.
Blog text (32) -
She quickly clicked off the last task on her to-do list, feeling accomplished.
-
After finishing the meal, he clicked off the cooking timer with a satisfied grin.
Synonyms
31
2.5
To complete the last part of a task
Antonyms
How Quickly
- Informal
3
3.6
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'click' (a quick press or sound, often with a mouse) and 'off' (marking completion or removal) give a plausible metaphorical image of quickly completing items, so part of the meaning can be guessed by someone who knows both words. However, the specific sense 'perform or finish actions quickly and efficiently' relies on a tech/checklist-based metaphor and pragmatic use that is not strictly predictable from the parts, so an average B1 learner would only partially infer it without prior exposure.
Etymology
Click off comes from the simple image of someone quickly pressing a small counter or clicking items on a checklist, where each fast click marks a task as done. That's why it now means 'to perform or finish actions quickly and efficiently'.