get off

verb

got off; got off or gotten off; getting off; gets off

intransitive verb

1

: to avoid the most serious consequences of a dangerous situation or punishment

got off with a light sentence

2

: start, leave

got off on the trip early

3

: to leave work with permission or as scheduled

4

: to get high on a drug

5

: to experience orgasm

6

: to experience great pleasure

—often used with on

transitive verb

1

: to secure the release of or procure a modified penalty for

his lawyers got him off

2

a

: utter

get off a joke

b

: to write and send

3

: to succeed in doing, making, or delivering

4

: to cause to get off

Synonyms of get off

• depart
• move
• exit
• get
• go
• pull out
• peel off
• push off
• go off
• walk out
• run along
• take off
• cut out
• escape
• start
• bail out
• clear off
• clear out
• step (along)
• push on
• evacuate
• dig out

Examples of get off in a Sentence

told him to get off for home before it got dark

breakfast helps you get off to a good start in the morning

Recent Examples on the Web

Matt Fitzpatrick, coming off a victory last week in France, also got off to a great start with six birdies in his opening seven holes. — ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

Meta got off to an early lead with Muse, which has been downloaded more than 3 million times. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026

The unit got off to a rocky start this season but there’s been recent improvement. — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 2 Oct. 2026

Tori famously dated Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s main character, Zack Morris, despite the two having gotten off to a rough start. — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Sep. 2026

The absurdist look at greed and climate change, reality and the distorting power of media, feckless world leaders and rapacious billionaires, struggled to get off the ground. — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2026

But even Cruise has learned the hard way that moviegoers have become pickier about what’s worth getting off the couch for. — Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026

The Royals got off to a slow start this spring with a 22-37 record entering June. — Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2026

When to get off the sidelines To be sure, the Russell 2000 is still up more than 13% in 2026 despite this quarter’s turmoil. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1601, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for get off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

get off

verb

1

: set out sense 2

got off on their camping trip

2

: to escape or help to escape punishment or harm