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Glite Dictionary
to whisk away

to whisk away

8 3.9
Move someone or something quickly to another place
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : llevarse
  • When they mentioned to the friendly locals that they were looking for a place to winter, they were whisked away to Messers Cove, an enclave of 14 families of fishermen at the western end of the village.

I have trouble believing that there wasn't somebody there who saw things and in the chaos was whisked away and said you didn't see shit.

Examples

  • We loaded onto the mini coach and were whisked away to Reunion Resort, about 20 minutes away.

    Blog text (13)

  • At French customs, the Colombian is singled out for a suitcase inspection and is promptly whisked away.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Up next, we were whisked away to one last hidden room.

  • Lucy was probably lucky not to get whisked away to some home.

    Blog text (12)

  • In a minute, she would hop on the bus and be whisked away to downtown Toronto.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • And suddenly they're gone, whisked away by the boat.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Often, Jerry and his crew would whisk away unsuspecting families to the Super Happy Fun Room.

    Willy's Wonderland (2021)

  • I was recently whisked away to Liechtenstein, a beautiful country lying entirely within the Alps.

    Blog text (18)

  • The paramedics whisked away the injured man to the hospital as quickly as possible.

  • She was whisked away by the tour guide to explore the beautiful gardens nearby.

Synonyms

to snatch
vsto whisk away
136 3.0

To take something quickly with your hand

removes someone or something by moving them quickly and suddenly
to whisk
vsto whisk away
41 3.4

To move someone or something quickly and lightly

moves someone or something with stronger displacement and suddenness
to tear away
vsto whisk away
6 4.5

To pull something off quickly with force

removes someone or something quickly and suddenly without violent ripping
to spirit away
vsto whisk away
  • Literature
4 8.7

To take someone or something away quickly and secretly, often in a mysterious way

removes someone or something quickly and suddenly without secrecy or mystery
to whisk off
vsto whisk away
1 4.4

To take a person or thing away quickly from a place

means the same but uses a different preposition form

Antonyms

to return
∞ 1.0

Go back to a place, state or activity

to bring back
436 1.7

Return someone or something to the place they came from

How Fast

to whisk away
8 3.9
to spirit away
  • Literature
4 8.7

Surface Forms

whisk away infinitive
whisked away past
whisked away past participle
whisking away present participle
whisks away third person singular

Morphology

whisk + away

Both constituents directly contribute to the overall sense: 'whisk' implies a quick, sweeping removal and 'away' signals movement to another location. This verb + particle composition is transparently compositional and a B1 learner who knows the two words can readily infer 'to take someone or something away quickly.'

Etymology

The phrasal verb whisk away may come from the quick sweep of a small brush or a magician pulling a tablecloth in one fast move, so you can picture something being swept away by a quick whisk. That's why whisk away means 'to take someone or something away quickly and suddenly'.