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to get off

to get off

246 2.1
To finish work at the end of your shift
  • phrasal verb
  • /ɡɛt ɔf/
translation icon : salir del trabajo
  • What time do you get off work?
  • get off work

So I was there for five months, just got off of duty.

Examples

  • Then she added, "Her husband gets off his job then, and they come straight here."

    Fiction book (1994)
  • I get off at 9:30.

  • Listen, when do you get off work?

  • What time do you get off?

  • I go to work at six and get off in the middle of the afternoon.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Please meet me at the Buckhorn when you get off, around 5? 6?

    Fiction book (1990)
  • I just got off the phone with Julian Nava... and the school board said... they're going to consider our demands next week.

  • What time do you get off work today so we can have dinner together?

  • I usually feel exhausted when I get off work after a long day.

  • After a busy shift, she looks forward to relaxing once she gets off work.

Synonyms

to get out
vsto get off
1.0

Leave a place or situation

is specific to finishing scheduled work time or being relieved from duty
to let off
vsto get off
75 3.5

To not punish someone or excuse them from a duty

means ending a scheduled duty period rather than forgiving wrongdoing
to call it a day
vsto get off
  • Informal
42 3.1

To stop working for the rest of the day

means leaving at your scheduled end rather than stopping by choice
to push off
vsto get off
  • Informal
14 6.8

Leave a place or start a journey

applies to ending a scheduled work period, not informal departures
to clock off
vsto get off
  • UK
1 5.0

To record the time you finish work using a machine

refers to leaving work itself rather than recording the time

Antonyms

20 2.7

Continuing after the planned time

Surface Forms

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

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 for ending work comes from the image of stepping away from your place of work or machine at the end of the day, as if you get off the work floor. That's why it means 'to leave work' or 'be free from duty'.