reel off

verb

reeled off; reeling off; reels off

transitive verb

1

: to tell or recite readily and usually at length

reel off a few jokes to break the ice

2

: to chalk up usually as a series

Synonyms of reel off

• recite
• memorize

Examples of reel off in a Sentence

he's able to reel off the names of all the U.S. presidents, in historical order and without pausing

her friend proceeded to reel off the roster of losers that she had dated over the years

Recent Examples on the Web

Tauson won the first game of the deciding set at love, but Mboko regrouped, reeled off four straight games and captured the match in 2 hours, 19 minutes. —Reuters, NBC news, 23 Jan. 2026

Poland’s President Nawrocki reeled off examples of Polish, Finnish, Japanese and even Afghan victories against Russia as evidence. —Clare Sebastian, CNN Money, 22 Jan. 2026

Texas reels off a 7-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Camden Heide, and this crowd gets as loud as its been all season. —Thomas Jones, Austin American Statesman, 14 Jan. 2026

While serving as the team’s primary returner the last two games, Smith reeled off the team’s longest punt return of the season — a 44-yarder against the Denver Broncos on Christmas. —Jesse Newell, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for reel off

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

Kids Definition

reel off

verb

: to tell or recite rapidly and easily

reeled off the right answers