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to mark off

to mark off

1 3.2
To put a line or tick next to an item to show it is finished
  • phrasal verb
  • /mɑrk ɔf/
translation icon : marcar
  • 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.

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Examples

  • As the event progressed, the manager would mark off each participant as they arrived.

  • OK, so I was too ambitious and I marked off too many of these.

  • OK, let me mark off and then we can continue again.

  • 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

to check
vsto mark off
  • US
1.0

Mark a box to show it is chosen or finished

is used for indicating items are noted or completed by placing symbols beside them
to mark
vsto mark off
192 1.0

Make a visible line, spot, or sign on a surface

is limited to showing items are noted or completed by placing small symbols beside them
to tick
vsto mark off
  • UK
50 2.0

To mark a box with a check to show it is chosen or complete

is applied when indicating completion by adding a small symbol beside items
to cross off
vsto mark off
35 1.8

To draw a line through an item on a list to show it is finished

uses a small symbol beside items rather than striking them out
to check off
vsto mark off
15 2.5

Mark an item on a list to show it is done

is mainly used for showing completion by placing a small symbol beside items
to tick off
vsto mark off
  • UK
4 3.7

Mark something with a check to show it is done

is used more broadly to show items are noted or completed
to chalk off
vsto mark off
  • UK
6.5

To mark an item as finished by drawing a line or writing a note

focuses on indicating completion specifically by adding a small symbol beside items

How Checked

to cross off
35 1.8
to mark off
1 3.2
to check off
15 2.5
tick
  • UK
8 1.0
to mark
192 1.0

Surface Forms

mark off infinitive
marked off past
marked off past participle
marking off present participle
marks off third person singular

Morphology

mark + off

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.