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Glite Dictionary
to screw off

to screw off

3 9.5
To tell someone rudely to go away or to stop working and relax
  • phrasal verb
  • /skruː ɔf/
  • Offensive
: mandar a alguien a la mierda
  • He was really annoying, so I finally said, "Just screw off already!"
  • told him to screw off

Examples

  • When she started bothering me while I was working, I told her to screw off.

  • I was so touched, gratified, and inspired by this event until this phrase, and now I just have the instinct to tell them to screw off.

    Blog text (29)

  • I told him to screw off and ran after her.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Now screw off!

    Kissing Darkness (2014)

  • - Screw off.

    Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989)

  • Screw off, Captain.

    Skyjacked (1972)

  • I've never experienced that, although I have experienced women trying to find faults with my boyfriend where none existed, and I proceeded to tell them to screw off.

    Blog text (8)

  • After a long week at the office, I decided to screw off for the weekend and relax.

Synonyms

to fuck off
vsto screw off
  • Offensive
104 9.9

Leave or tell someone to leave in a rude way

is a rude command but usually less explicitly vulgar
to push off
vsto screw off
  • Informal
14 6.8

Leave a place or start a journey

is a forceful, often angry command rather than a neutral departure
to bugger off
vsto screw off
  • Offensive
12 9.9

Tell someone to go away immediately in a rude way

is equally forceful but not tied to that specific insult
to buzz off
vsto screw off
  • Offensive
12 8.4

To tell someone to go away right away in a rude or angry way

is similarly sharp but can sound rougher or more hostile
to shove off
vsto screw off
  • Informal
12 7.7

Leave a place quickly, often in a rude way

is used to order someone away directly rather than just leaving
to bug off
vsto screw off
  • Informal
4 8.9

Tell someone to go away and leave you alone

is often stronger and can feel more aggressive
to sod off
vsto screw off
  • Offensive
3 9.9

Tell someone to go away in a rude way

is similarly forceful but less regionally marked
to frig off
vsto screw off
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To tell someone rudely to go away and leave you alone

is similarly rude but can be slightly less crude
to cock off
vsto screw off
  • Offensive
9.9

To tell someone to go away using rude language

is a forceful dismissal but may be less offensive
to eff off
vsto screw off
  • Offensive
9.9

A rude way to tell someone to go away without the real swear word

is often more directly rude and sometimes cruder
to shove along
vsto screw off
  • Informal
8.1

To leave a place quickly, often in a rude way

is a direct rude order rather than just an instruction to move
to duck off
vsto screw off
  • Offensive
9.9

To leave quickly and quietly or tell someone rudely to go away

is a blunt angry dismissal rather than a discreet departure

Antonyms

to stay
∞ 1.0

To remain in one place and not leave

Surface Forms

screw off infinitive
screwing off present participle
screws off third person singular
screwed off past
screwed off past participle

Morphology

screw + off

The imperative sense 'tell someone to go away/leave me alone' cannot be reliably derived from the literal meanings of 'screw' (no clear dictionary meaning provided) and 'off' (removal/separation). Although verb+off patterns sometimes mean 'go away' in English, this is an idiomatic, rude usage that a B1 learner who merely knows the constituents would be unlikely to predict.

Etymology

The phrasal verb screw off may come from the image of turning a screw off so a part comes away. So it now means 'go away' when you tell someone to leave, and it can also mean 'take time off' when you remove yourself from work.