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Glite Dictionary
🚶 To leave suddenly 🕵️ To steal
to walk off

to walk off

12 7.5
To take something that is not yours and carry it away without asking
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
: llevarse
  • She was caught trying to walk off with the store's merchandise.
  • walk off the job

It means that a person who did some really bad things walk off with enough money to keep a small town going for a few years.

Examples

  • She walked off with everything else.

    The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)

  • I let her walk off with the wine.

    The Inheritance (2024)

  • Oh, we, we, we've had people sometimes just walk off with our food, right.

  • They take the things from them and start to walk off.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • You know you can't just walk off with someone's baby.

    The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024)

  • I can't believe he would just walk off with my lunch without asking.

  • If you see someone walk off with my backpack, please let me know.

Synonyms

to steal
vsto walk off
∞ 1.0

Take something that does not belong to you without permission

is a broader term that does not stress secrecy or force
to run off with
vsto walk off
69 5.4

To leave quickly with something stolen or taken without permission

focuses on taking without permission without implying escape afterward
to make off
vsto walk off
23 6.4

To run away quickly after stealing or committing a crime

describes the act of taking without permission rather than the act of leaving
to swipe
vsto walk off
  • Informal
21 5.5

To take something quickly without the owner noticing

is the general act of taking without permission not limited to casual acts
to walk off with
vsto walk off
  • Informal
16 6.5

To take something quickly without the owner's permission, often without being noticed

is the general act of taking without permission, not only quick or unnoticed
to rip off
vsto walk off
  • Informal
12 6.3

To steal something quickly without the owner knowing

is a broader taking without permission not focused on speed or secrecy
to knock off
vsto walk off
  • Slang
3 8.4

Steal things, for example electronics or cars

is the standard verb for taking without permission rather than slang
to have it away
vsto walk off
  • UK
1 9.9

To secretly steal something

is a general taking without permission not limited to secret methods

Antonyms

return
81 1.0

An act of giving something back to its owner

to relinquish
  • Formal
62 7.2

To give up control, a right, or something you own

How Serious

to rob
852 1.2
to burgle
  • UK
5 5.0
to steal
∞ 1.0
to walk off
  • Informal
12 7.5

Surface Forms

walk off infinitive
walked off past
walked off past participle
walking off present participle
walks off third person singular

Morphology

walk + off

The core meaning 'to leave/ walk away from a place' is directly and compositionally derived from 'walk' (move on foot) + 'off' (away from), following a common motion verb + particle pattern. While the nuance of suddenness or annoyance requires pragmatic context, a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the basic sense of leaving.

Etymology

Walk off comes from the simple image of someone picking up an item and literally walking off with it, leaving the owner behind. So the phrase can mean 'to take something without permission' or 'to steal'.