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Glite Dictionary
to work off

to work off

23 3.5
To get rid of something by exercising or paying money
  • phrasal verb
  • /wɜrk ɔf/
translation icon : quemar
  • After a big meal, I like to go for a jog to work off the extra calories.

Examples

  • I'm gonna work off my debt and then I'm going back to get what's mine.

    Redeeming Love (2022)

  • You'll do chores for that lady until you work off the damage you did.

    Confessions of an American Bride (2007)

  • Are you looking to work off your debt?

    The Chateau Meroux (2011)

  • All right, Henry, I need to work off a little steam.

    Angel Town (1990)

  • What do you say we go to the gym and work off a little stress?

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Some kids are just naturally intelligent; some have to work their butts off for it.

    Blog text (21)

  • Think about this scenario: You're in college, you work your butt off and earn a 4.0 GPA.

    Blog text (6)

  • At four-fifteen, we were sitting around working off a little angst, shooting rubber bands at each other when our phone rang.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • There, accompanied by four sweating men, all about Bithras's age, I worked off my anger and dismay for about an hour.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Our parents worked their asses off to send us to college, and here we are, decoding the winky in a smiley.

    Love Again (2023)

Synonyms

to burn
vsto work off
191 3.2

To use up money, energy, or other resources

applies to removing unwanted things specifically by effort not general use
to shake off
vsto work off
41 3.6

Make something unwanted go away, like an illness, a feeling, or a person following you

is specific about removing such things by physical effort rather than any means
to burn up
vsto work off
22 3.4

To use energy from the body or fuel when you move

focuses on removing unwanted things by physical effort rather than rest
to burn off
vsto work off
8 3.4

Use up energy by physical activity

is used to remove feelings debts or weight by physical effort
to sleep off
vsto work off
  • Informal
5 3.7

To get better from a hangover, headache, or cold by sleeping

is about removing things by active effort rather than by resting

Antonyms

to accumulate
174 3.4

To gather more and more of something over time

How Removed

to get rid of
∞ 1.6
to work off
23 3.5
to clear
∞ 1.5

Surface Forms

work off infinitive
worked off past
worked off past participle
working off present participle
works off third person singular

Morphology

work + off

The meaning 'to get rid of something by effort' follows directly from 'work' (exert effort) plus 'off' (remove), so a learner who knows the constituents can plausibly infer the basic sense. However, the particle 'off' forms a phrasal-verb pattern and the expression covers a range of metaphorical objects (stress, debt, calories), so the exact meaning and usage are not fully predictable without exposure.

Etymology

Work off comes from the simple image of using work to make something come off — like scrubbing dirt until it comes off or doing jobs to pay a debt. So, work off means 'to get rid of' something unwanted, such as weight, stress, or a debt, by effort or activity.