as in distracting
to draw the attention or mind to something else
the sudden noise just threw me off completely, and I missed my shot
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Recent Examples of throwing off
Chip stocks, however, stumbled; bitcoin is hovering at its weakest since the war began, private credit is throwing off sparks again — and a flesh-eating parasite has turned up in Texas.
—
Anniek Bao, CNBC, 5 June 2026
Now scientists have discovered the behemoth is throwing off a hot breeze.
—Jeanna Bryner, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
Miller is five weeks into a throwing program and expects to start throwing off a mound for the first time this week.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 3 June 2026
At times, his lower half was opening too quickly, throwing off the way his legs worked with his upper half.
—Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2026
Your schedule, routines or work environment could feel especially chaotic today, with interruptions throwing off your modus operandi and usual sense of control.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 22 May 2026
Otherwise, there was little evidence of factors that might be throwing off the results.
—ArsTechnica, 29 Apr. 2026
The Hudson Yards area is throwing off cash.
—Peter Peyser, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2026
But a number of architects and preservation groups provided their opinions of the 90,000 square foot project, generally characterizing it as way out of scale with the Executive Residence, the main part of the White House, while throwing off the symmetry of the grounds.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 2 Apr. 2026
Anniek Bao, CNBC, 5 June 2026
Now scientists have discovered the behemoth is throwing off a hot breeze.
—Jeanna Bryner, Scientific American, 4 June 2026
Miller is five weeks into a throwing program and expects to start throwing off a mound for the first time this week.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 3 June 2026
At times, his lower half was opening too quickly, throwing off the way his legs worked with his upper half.
—Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2026
Your schedule, routines or work environment could feel especially chaotic today, with interruptions throwing off your modus operandi and usual sense of control.
—Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 22 May 2026
Otherwise, there was little evidence of factors that might be throwing off the results.
—ArsTechnica, 29 Apr. 2026
The Hudson Yards area is throwing off cash.
—Peter Peyser, New York Daily News, 26 Apr. 2026
But a number of architects and preservation groups provided their opinions of the 90,000 square foot project, generally characterizing it as way out of scale with the Executive Residence, the main part of the White House, while throwing off the symmetry of the grounds.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 2 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for throwing off
Verb
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People who attend the trial will also be prohibited from reacting, gesturing, wearing distracting clothing or otherwise disrupting the proceedings.—
Matthew Ablon,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
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If anything, Horvath writes, ed tech broke American schools by pitching distracting multimedia to boost learning.—
Tyler Kingkade,
NBC news,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Creating parallel capabilities overseas risks duplicating existing infrastructure while diverting attention and resources from the interventions most likely to bring the outbreak under control.—
Krutika Kuppalli,
STAT,
5 June 2026
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Concurrently, the Met botch their way through their investigation, diverting all their attention to an entirely innocent man while ignoring the serial offender under their nose.—
Jon O'Brien,
IndieWire,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Throwing off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/throwing%20off. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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