to mark off
- phrasal verb
- /mɑrk ɔf/
- She used a pen to mark off the completed tasks on her checklist.
- mark off each day
And we marked off all the time that I was away.
- And we marked off all the time that I was away.
- We have neurons, nerve cells in our eye, in our brain and in our body that are marking off the passage of time throughout the year.
- And I've just kind of marked off all the things I wouldn't want to do as a head coach because at the end of the day, people know fake.
- If anything has the possibility of ripping this asshole, you can fucking mark that off the list.
Examples
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As the event progressed, the manager would mark off each participant as they arrived.
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OK, so I was too ambitious and I marked off too many of these.
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OK, let me mark off and then we can continue again.
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Great time to mark off another gift!
Blog text (28) -
Some participants marked off the wrong trip dates on the calendar.
Academic text (1996) -
Along with everything else important, I would have marked it off on my checklist before leaving home.
Fiction book (2002) -
A group of students in each classroom would use a list of explorers to mark off names as they were eliminated.
Academic text (2014) -
Years ago, she had marked off a space in her slowly shrinking office where children sat who had been sent there for misbehavior.
Fiction book (1993) -
That concept might be achieved at the elementary level, for example, by having students mark off "the play area" and other classroom "regions" and then having them describe appropriate behavior in each region.
Academic text (1997) -
On the blank map, I had marked off five U.S. regions of roughly ten states each: Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Great Plains/Rocky Mountains, and the West.
Academic text (1998)
Synonyms
Mark a box to show it is chosen or finished
Make a visible line, spot, or sign on a surface
To mark a box with a check to show it is chosen or complete
To draw a line through an item on a list to show it is finished
Mark an item on a list to show it is done
Mark something with a check to show it is done
To mark an item as finished by drawing a line or writing a note
How Checked
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to draw lines or set boundaries' is directly derivable from combining 'mark' (to label or make a sign) with the particle 'off' which here signals separation or division; together they convey marking something as separate. This is a regular, compositional phrasal-verb pattern that a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand.
Etymology
Mark off The phrasal verb mark off comes from the simple act of putting a small mark next to an item to take it off your list. So when you mark off something you show that it is 'finished' or checked.