to score off
- phrasal verb
- UK
:
superar a
- " His smile, a supplicant's slyness, churchman's smile, warder's wink: " I think he's trying to score off her," he says.
Examples
-
You've scored off Sir Harry, but at my expense.
-
(They failed to score off Carroll.)
Blog text (11) -
Johnson, a third team All-American in 2011-12, can score off the dribble and has strong defensive skills.
Blog text (32) -
In the last quarter of the game, she managed to score off her opponent with a brilliant move.
-
The team relied on their star player to score off the fast breaks they practiced all week.
-
He always finds a way to score off his rivals during debates with clever arguments.
Synonyms
∞
1.4
To defeat another person or team in a contest
83
3.4
Do better than others, for example at work or school
49
3.8
Defeat others in a contest to win a job or prize
14
4.2
Do better than and beat an opponent in a game
14
3.4
To score more points than an opponent in a game
10
3.0
Get praise or approval from others through your words and actions
4
7.0
To gain an advantage over someone by using clever or unexpected actions
2
6.1
To do better than someone or something and win
2
6.7
To gain more than someone else, especially in a competition
1
6.1
To have an advantage over someone in competition
1
6.7
To get more people or money than someone else
1
7.4
To score more points than an opponent, for example in boxing
1
7.9
To defeat the person or team at the top and take their place
1
8.8
Beat someone by a lot
Get an advantage over other companies or people
To win against other teams or companies in a contest
To try to be better than someone in a contest or task
To be left far behind by someone in a race or game
Antonyms
How Decisive
Surface Forms
Morphology
score + off
The core verb 'score' (to gain points) gives a clear clue that the phrase involves gaining points or advantage, so a learner could partially infer the general idea of beating someone. However, the particle 'off' does not have a transparent compositional role here and the phrasing is somewhat idiomatic (especially in British usage), so the exact sense of outdoing or humiliating someone is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Score off may come from game scoreboards: to score (get a point) off an opponent meant your points went up against theirs. So, 'to score off' someone today means 'to gain an advantage over them' or to show them up.