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Glite Dictionary
to dash off

to dash off

3 5.1
To write something quickly without much care
  • phrasal verb
  • /dæʃ ɔf/
translation icon : escribir rápidamente

Examples

  • I'm here... At last, he sat down to dash off something.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • and not the kind of thing you could dash off in a hurried note or memo.

    Academic text (2007)

  • Frank smiled and dashed off a response.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The submission was about local issues and had to be quickly dashed off, but it has some wider implications.

    Blog text (25)

  • I had kept the idea in the forefront of his imagination until he finally sat down and dashed off his novel.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • You see, you don't just dash off a book full of sharply observed, hilarious... yet deeply intelligent essays, to quote The New York Times.

    The Women (2008)

  • Cleaver was outraged and dashed off an open letter to President Boumedienne.

    Blog text (18)

  • She quickly dashed off a letter to her friend before leaving.

  • He always dashes off his homework without double-checking it.

  • After a brief meeting, Sarah dashed off a report for her boss.

Synonyms

to knock off
vsto dash off
  • Informal
4 6.1

Make something quickly with little effort

is about quick making with lack of attention rather than just low effort
to shoot off
vsto dash off
  • Informal
3 4.1

To send a message quickly without much thought

is about making or writing quickly rather than primarily sending messages
to dash down
vsto dash off
1 4.4

To write something quickly without much care

is about quick making or writing rather than only recording facts
to scratch off
vsto dash off
1 4.4

To write something quickly without much care

is the general act of quick creation or writing not just hurried notes
to bash out
vsto dash off
  • Informal
7.2

To make writing or music quickly without much care

is the broader act of making quick written or created work
to toss off
vsto dash off
  • Informal
8.1

To make something quickly with little effort

is quick creation that focuses on lack of care rather than lack of effort
to fling off
vsto dash off
  • Informal
7.3

To write something quickly without much effort

is quick creation that stresses little attention rather than casual speed

Antonyms

to refine
93 4.0

Make something better by making a few small changes

to elaborate
79 4.2

To give more details or explain something more fully

How Quickly

to scribble
55 3.5
to dash off
3 5.1
to jot down
  • Informal
27 2.9
to draft
138 3.7
to write
  • Literature
∞ 1.6

Surface Forms

dash off infinitive
dashed off past
dashed off past participle
dashing off present participle
dashes off third person singular

Morphology

dash + off

The core verb 'dash' means to rush, so combined with the particle 'off' the phrase conveys doing something quickly; this makes the general sense (perform quickly) reasonably inferable from the parts. However, the specific extension to 'write or create quickly' is a metaphorical use and not strictly predictable from the literal meanings—B1 learners might guess a rapid action but not necessarily that it means 'write' without contextual cues.

Etymology

Dash off comes from the idea of a quick run: dash means a short, fast run and off means 'away'. Imagine moving a pen across the page like a quick run, writing so fast you do not check your work, and that's why it means 'to write or make something quickly, without much care'.