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Glite Dictionary
🏠 To finish work 🙅 To stop bothering ⚖️ To avoid punishment 🚶 To leave 🔥 To feel aroused 💊 To get high 😄 To say a joke
to get off

to get off

170 6.0
To avoid punishment for a crime or charge
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡɛt ɔf/
translation icon : salir impune
  • After the trial, the defendant was relieved to find that he could get off with just a fine.

Gregor McGregor, on the other hand, got off Scott free.

Examples

  • His lawyer bargained with the city's lawyer, and he got off with a suspended sentence.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • You may get off with as little as seven years.

    Sleuth (1972)

  • I was like that driver, man, he got off Scott free.

  • Everybody thought he was gonna get off.

    Bernie (2012)

  • He got off with a warning.

    The Italian Job (2003)

  • They'll say he had the best lawyers that Metro could buy, that's how he got off.

    Gable and Lombard (1976)

  • Consuelo's lawyer tried to get her off by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • The lawyer managed to help his client get off without serving any jail time.

  • Many people believe that wealthy individuals often get off lightly when they commit crimes.

Synonyms

to get away
vsto get off
786 4.1

To avoid being punished for something you did wrong

focuses more on avoiding legal punishment or unpleasant consequences
to get away with
vsto get off
672 3.5

To escape punishment for doing something wrong

focuses more on avoiding legal punishment or unpleasant consequences
to get out
vsto get off
  • Informal
462 3.8

Avoid doing a task or taking blame you should accept

focuses more on avoiding legal punishment than mere responsibility
to escape
vsto get off
263 1.4

To avoid being harmed or affected by something unpleasant

is narrower, focusing on avoiding punishment or legal consequences
to get away with it
vsto get off
234 3.4

Escape blame or punishment for doing something wrong

focuses more on avoiding legal punishment or unpleasant consequences
to let off
vsto get off
75 3.5

To not punish someone or excuse them from a duty

means avoiding punishment oneself rather than being excused by others
to get by
vsto get off
  • Informal
20 3.9

Avoid being caught or punished for breaking rules

is used more broadly for escaping legal punishment or serious consequences
to get off lightly
vsto get off
  • Informal
1 6.5

Receive little or no punishment for a mistake

usually means avoiding punishment entirely rather than minimal consequences

Antonyms

to face the music
  • Informal
19 4.5

Accept and deal with unpleasant results or criticism for something you did

punished
1.4

Has a penalty for doing something wrong

How Punished

jailed
3.5
fine
321 2.8
what for
  • Informal
1 8.8
to get off
170 6.0

Surface Forms

get off infinitive
got off past
got off past participle
getting off present participle
gets off third person singular

Morphology

get + off

The sense 'leave a vehicle' is directly derivable from combining a motion verb 'get' (move/arrive at) with the particle 'off' (away from a surface), so that reading is transparent to learners. However, the extension 'stop bothering/irritating someone' is a metaphorical use of 'off' (move away from/contact removed) and requires recognition of a figurative transfer, so overall the item is only partially predictable.

Etymology

Get off meaning to avoid punishment comes from the picture of someone walking out of court or a bad situation without being punished, as if they were let go. So it means 'to escape punishment or consequences'.