let off

phrasal verb

let off; letting off; lets off

1

: to allow (someone) to get off a bus, an airplane, etc.

Could you let me off (the bus) at the next stop, please?

The bus stopped to let off a few passengers.

2

: to allow (someone who has been caught doing something wrong or illegal) to go without being punished

The police officer let her off with just a warning.

They let him off easy/easily/lightly, if you ask me.

3

: to cause (something) to explode or to be released in a forceful way

let off a firecracker

opened the valve to let off pressure

Examples of let off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Our entire group was let off at about 6.5 hrs only to be asked to re-board the same plane hours later, still waiting at the same gate. —Darlin Tillery, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025

After critical and commercial smash hits, 2018’s Hereditary and 2019’s Midsommar, Beau Is Afraid was Aster’s ostensible blank check movie—a rare rite handed to directors that make a studio so much dough, they are let off leash as a reward. —Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 17 July 2025

The home team built their lead to as big 28 and didn’t let off the gas. —Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 3 Aug. 2025

Once we get hit 3-2-1-zero, the unit swings and lets off steam upon observers below. —Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 July 2025

Rhymes for let off

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