throw off

verb

threw off; thrown off; throwing off; throws off

transitive verb

1

a

: to free oneself from : get rid of

threw off his inhibitions

b

: to cast off often in a hurried or vigorous manner : abandon

threw off all restraint

c

: distract, divert

dogs thrown off by a false scent

2

: emit, give off

stacks throwing off plumes of smoke

3

: to produce in an offhand manner : execute with speed or facility

… some little … tune that the composer had thrown off …

—James Hilton

4

a

: to cause to depart from an expected or desired course

mistakes threw his calculations off a bit

b

: to cause to make a mistake : mislead

5

: earn, generate

an investment that throws off a sizable income

intransitive verb

1

: to begin hunting

2

: to make derogatory comments

Synonyms of throw off

• distract
• divert

Examples of throw off in a Sentence

the sudden noise just threw me off completely, and I missed my shot

Recent Examples on the Web

Her smile drops; the question throws off the energy of the conversation, almost like a betrayal has occurred. — Wisdom Iheanyichukwu, Vanity Fair, 2 Nov. 2026

Wu noted that the predictability of the timeframe surrounding flu season has been somewhat thrown off by COVID-19. — Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 30 Oct. 2026

On his last two drives, he was pressured into oblivion, forced to throw off-balance once and crumpled to the ground one other time. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 30 Oct. 2026

Their campaign is thrown off course when one of their children goes to work for an artificial intelligence company. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 29 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1b

Rhymes for throw off

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

Kids Definition

throw off

verb

: to send out : emit

a sparkler throws off sparks