to doff one's shoes

8.0

To take off your shoes, often as a sign of respect before entering a home or temple

phrasal verb

: quitarse los zapatos

Please doff your shoes before entering the house.

Examples

She paused at the door to doff her shoes as a sign of respect.
It is customary in this household to doff your shoes upon entry.
In many temples, visitors are expected to doff their shoes before stepping inside.
Before we sit down, let's doff our shoes.
In many temples, visitors are expected to doff their shoes before stepping inside.
It is customary in this household to doff your shoes upon entry.
She paused at the door to doff her shoes as a sign of respect.

Synonyms

to doff

vsto doff one's shoes

3 9.9

To take off a hat or other piece of clothing

is specific to taking off footwear as a respectful or entry ritual

Antonyms

to put on

54 3.0

To start music or a recording so people can hear it

Surface Forms

doff one's shoes infinitive

doffed one's shoes past

doffed one's shoes past participle

doffing one's shoes present participle

doffs one's shoes third person singular

Morphology

doff + one + shoe

The verb 'doff' directly means 'to take off (an item of clothing)', and combined with 'one's shoes' yields the literal meaning 'remove one's shoes'; this composition is fully predictable from the constituents. Although 'doff' is somewhat formal/old-fashioned, the semantic relation is transparent and would be understandable to a learner who knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Doff one's shoes comes from the old word doff, a short form of do off meaning 'to take off' something. People would doff a hat or shoes as a sign of respect or before entering a home, so today doff one's shoes means 'to remove one's shoes', often to show respect or follow house rules.