to sound off
1
5.5
- phrasal verb
- /saʊnd ɔf/
:
sonar
- Over the weekend, the writer of The Dark Knight Rises sounded off not only about the ending to the film that drew in over $446 million, but also about his desire to tackle another DC property in the future.
Examples
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sound off (23 Responses)
Blog text (7) -
The bartender watches TV, sound off.
Fiction book (1998) -
Just for comparison, let me play to you the blue whales as they sound off of Australia.
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Sound off, a man is crying about what he has lost in the flood. #RAY#
Fiction book (1998) -
sound off (30 responses)
Blog text (31) -
sound off (62 Responses)
Blog text (3) -
sound off (609 Responses)
Blog text (3) -
sound off (364 responses)
Blog text (29) -
After all the bullshit is spewed, all the conspiratorial nonsense shoveled, and all of the dog whistles sounded off, at the end of the day it really is about the policy put forth.
Blog text (25) -
At the start of the parade, the band will sound off to signal the beginning of the festivities.
Synonyms
451
3.2
Start making a loud noise or explode, for example an alarm
4
4.4
To start playing a song, usually by a band or group
To start to play music or sing suddenly
Surface Forms
Morphology
sound + off
The verb 'sound' clearly means 'to make a noise', so part of the MWE's meaning is directly derivable; however the particle 'off' does not inherently mean 'to begin', and its contribution here relies on verb–particle patterning (compare 'kick off', 'start off') rather than straightforward compositional logic. Because the sense 'to begin to make a sound' is only partially predictable from the parts and depends on phrasal-verb usage, this is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
Sound off also comes from the picture of trumpets or horns giving a loud first note to mark the start of an event. That's why sound off can mean 'to begin to play or make a sound, especially to mark a start'.