Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to bundle off

to bundle off

7.7
To send someone away quickly without much ceremony
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : enviar rápidamente
  • So this person's condition worsens sufficiently that he is bundled off to the hospital.

Dozens of her fellow students were bundled off by Boko Haram.

Examples

  • After the debate, the guests were quickly bundled off to their cars by the staff.

  • Dozens of her fellow students were bundled off by Boko Haram.

    Harvard University

  • She was bundled off to the summer camp without any time to say goodbye.

  • The kids were bundled off to bed as soon as the movie was over.

Synonyms

to drop off
vsto bundle off
400 3.0

To take someone or something to a place and leave them there

is faster and less formal, not merely a delivery to a place
to send away
vsto bundle off
6 1.9

Make something go to another place by post

is done quickly and without ceremony, not necessarily formal mailing
to cart off
vsto bundle off
  • Informal
4 5.9

To take someone or something away by vehicle, often quickly and without care

is slightly faster and more hurried in removal
to carry off
vsto bundle off
4 4.4

To take a person to another place or to move someone's feelings suddenly

focuses on quick removal without ceremony rather than emotional change
to cart away
vsto bundle off
  • Informal
1 4.1

To take something away in a vehicle, often because it is large or unwanted

is used for quick removal without ceremony, not only for bulky items

Antonyms

to invite
∞ 1.0

To ask someone politely to come or take part in an event

to welcome
583 1.0

Greet someone in a friendly way when they arrive

How Quickly

to rush off
20 3.8
to bundle off
  • Informal
7.7
to send away
43 3.0
to usher out
3 5.1

Surface Forms

bundle off infinitive
bundled off past
bundled off past participle
bundling off present participle
bundles off third person singular

Morphology

bundle + off

The particle 'off' clearly signals movement away and 'bundle' can connote gathering or hustling someone, so a learner could partly infer a meaning related to moving someone away quickly. However, the specific sense 'send someone away quickly and without much ceremony' is a pragmatic/idiomatic extension of those parts and the precise nuance is not fully predictable from the constituents alone.

Etymology

The phrasal verb bundle off comes from the image of wrapping a person like a small bundle and sending them off quickly, so it means 'to send someone away quickly and without much ceremony'.