toss off
phrasal verb
tossed off; tossing off; tosses off
1
informal
: to produce (something) quickly and without much effort
He tossed off a few lines of poetry.
2
informal
: to drink (something) quickly
He tossed off a shot of whiskey.
3
British, informal + impolite
: to touch or rub one's own sexual organs for sexual pleasure : to masturbate
Examples of toss off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That’s partly because reports of vacationers in Airbnb and other short-term rentals luring black bears with raspberries and strips of bacon tossed off the decks of mountain chalets could hamper lucrative income streams.
—
Louis Sahagún, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Hammel is an appealing screen presence, tossing off inappropriate remarks with blithe abandon and making Karla the sort of friend who’s both endearing and exasperating — her affection often barbed and her opportunism unapologetic.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The politics bubbles along in the background — there are posters and graffiti, characters toss off lines about democracy and socialism — but even local audiences, says Scorsati, overlook the history and get caught up in the story of Delia’s emanicipation.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Over queasy feedback that squeals like a zombie radio signal, Brown tosses off rhetorical bicycle kicks, rhymes Cool Runnings with Good Will Hunting, and cracks wise about out-of-service McDonald’s soft serve machines.
—Pitchfork, 11 Dec. 2023
Jackson, working with the cinematographer Jomo Fray, unites gesture and drama, creating bold and nuanced sequences from moments that, in most movies, would be tossed off in a blandly illustrative shot or two.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2023
Over his shoulder, my boyfriend tossed off a breezy no worries.
—Jessica Knoll, Vogue, 22 Sep. 2023
Last month, Richardson dramatically tossed off her wig moments before sprinting to a first-place finish at the U.S. Track and Field Championships.
—Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 21 Aug. 2023
Before long, Indy and Helena are tossing off second-rate quips and mapping their way from New York to Tangier to the Aegean Sea — all as part of a quest to recover the Dial of Destiny and keep its potentially history-altering powers from falling into the wrong hands.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2023
Louis Sahagún, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024
Hammel is an appealing screen presence, tossing off inappropriate remarks with blithe abandon and making Karla the sort of friend who’s both endearing and exasperating — her affection often barbed and her opportunism unapologetic.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
The politics bubbles along in the background — there are posters and graffiti, characters toss off lines about democracy and socialism — but even local audiences, says Scorsati, overlook the history and get caught up in the story of Delia’s emanicipation.
—Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Over queasy feedback that squeals like a zombie radio signal, Brown tosses off rhetorical bicycle kicks, rhymes Cool Runnings with Good Will Hunting, and cracks wise about out-of-service McDonald’s soft serve machines.
—Pitchfork, 11 Dec. 2023
Jackson, working with the cinematographer Jomo Fray, unites gesture and drama, creating bold and nuanced sequences from moments that, in most movies, would be tossed off in a blandly illustrative shot or two.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2023
Over his shoulder, my boyfriend tossed off a breezy no worries.
—Jessica Knoll, Vogue, 22 Sep. 2023
Last month, Richardson dramatically tossed off her wig moments before sprinting to a first-place finish at the U.S. Track and Field Championships.
—Sean Neumann, Peoplemag, 21 Aug. 2023
Before long, Indy and Helena are tossing off second-rate quips and mapping their way from New York to Tangier to the Aegean Sea — all as part of a quest to recover the Dial of Destiny and keep its potentially history-altering powers from falling into the wrong hands.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'toss off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Toss off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toss%20off. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
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