cough — When you cough, you force air out of your throat with a sudden, harsh noise. You often cough when you are ill, or when you are nervous or want to attract someone's attention.
off — so as to be no longer supported or attached: This button is about to come off.
prof. — Prof. is a written abbreviation for professor.
scoff — to speak derisively; mock; jeer (often followed by at): If you can't do any better, don't scoff. Their efforts toward a peaceful settlement are not to be scoffed at.
bear off — (of a vessel) to avoid hitting an obstacle, another vessel, etc, by swerving onto a different course
beg off — to ask to be released from an engagement, obligation, etc
blast off — When a space rocket blasts off, it leaves the ground at the start of its journey.
blow off — If you blow something off, you ignore it or choose not to deal with it.
break off — If part of something breaks off or if you break it off, it comes off or is removed by force.
bring off — If you bring off something difficult, you do it successfully.
brush off — If someone brushes you off when you speak to them, they refuse to talk to you or be nice to you.
bump off — To bump someone off means to kill them.
buy off — If you say that a person or organization buys off another person or group, you are criticizing the fact that they are giving them something such as money so that they will not complain or cause trouble.
buzz off — If someone buzzes off, they go away. People sometimes say buzz off as a rude way of telling someone to go away.
call off — If you call off an event that has been planned, you cancel it.
cart off — to carry or remove brusquely or by force
cast off — If you cast off something, you get rid of it because it is no longer necessary or useful to you, or because it is harmful to you.
check off — When you check things off, you check or count them while referring to a list of them, to make sure you have considered all of them.
choke off — To choke off financial growth means to restrict or control the rate at which a country's economy can grow.
christophe — Henri (ɑ̃ri). 1767–1820, Haitian revolutionary leader; king of Haiti (1811–20)
clear off — If you tell someone to clear off, you are telling them rather rudely to go away.
clock off — When you clock off at work, you leave work or put a special card into a device to show what time you left.
come off — If something comes off, it is successful or effective.
cool off — If someone or something cools off, or if you cool them off, they become cooler after having been hot.
count off — to separate into equal divisions by counting
cut off — If you cut something off, you remove it with a knife or a similar tool.
dash off — If you dash off to a place, you go there very quickly.
day off — A day off is a day when you do not go to work, even though it is usually a working day.
die off — a sudden, natural perishing of large numbers of a species, population, or community.
first off — being before all others with respect to time, order, rank, importance, etc., used as the ordinal number of one: the first edition; the first vice president.
get off — to receive or come to have possession, use, or enjoyment of: to get a birthday present; to get a pension.
give off — to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation; bestow: to give a birthday present to someone.
go off — to move or proceed, especially to or from something: They're going by bus.
haul off — to pull or draw with force; move by drawing; drag: They hauled the boat up onto the beach.
head off — the upper part of the body in humans, joined to the trunk by the neck, containing the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
hold off — to have or keep in the hand; keep fast; grasp: She held the purse in her right hand. He held the child's hand in his.
jack off — any of various portable devices for raising or lifting heavy objects short heights, using various mechanical, pneumatic, or hydraulic methods.
jerk off — a quick, sharp pull, thrust, twist, throw, or the like; a sudden movement: The train started with a jerk.
jerk-off — a stupid, bumbling, foolish, or lazy person; jerk.
keep off — to hold or retain in one's possession; hold as one's own: If you like it, keep it. Keep the change.
kick off — the act of kicking; a blow or thrust with the foot or feet.
kill off — to deprive of life in any manner; cause the death of; slay. Synonyms: slaughter, massacre, butcher; hang, electrocute, behead, guillotine, strangle, garrote; assassinate.
laugh off — to express mirth, pleasure, derision, or nervousness with an audible, vocal expulsion of air from the lungs that can range from a loud burst of sound to a series of quiet chuckles and is usually accompanied by characteristic facial and bodily movements.
lay off — to put or place in a horizontal position or position of rest; set down: to lay a book on a desk.
lead off — most important; principal; leading; first: lead editorial; lead elephant; lead designer.
leave off — to go out of or away from, as a place: to leave the house.
lift off — Aeronautics, Rocketry. the action of an aircraft in becoming airborne or of a rocket in rising from its launching site under its own power. the instant when such action occurs.
mouth off — Anatomy, Zoology. the opening through which an animal or human takes in food. the cavity containing the structures used in mastication. the structures enclosing or being within this cavity, considered as a whole.
nod off — to make a slight, quick downward bending forward of the head, as in assent, greeting, or command.
pair off — two identical, similar, or corresponding things that are matched for use together: a pair of gloves; a pair of earrings.
palm off — the part of the inner surface of the hand that extends from the wrist to the bases of the fingers.
pass off — to move past; go by: to pass another car on the road.
pay off — to settle (a debt, obligation, etc.), as by transferring money or goods, or by doing something: Please pay your bill.
peel off — designed to be peeled off from a backing or large sheet, usually of paper, before use; readied for use by peeling off: peel-off labels.
pick off — the act of choosing or selecting; choice; selection: to take one's pick.
roll off — Electronics. the rate of loss or attenuation of a signal beyond a certain frequency.
round off — having a flat, circular surface, as a disk.
rub off — to subject the surface of (a thing or person) to pressure and friction, as in cleaning, smoothing, polishing, coating, massaging, or soothing: to rub a table top with wax polish; to rub the entire back area.
run off — to go quickly by moving the legs more rapidly than at a walk and in such a manner that for an instant in each step all or both feet are off the ground.
seal off — an embossed emblem, figure, symbol, word, letter, etc., used as attestation or evidence of authenticity.
skim off — to take up or remove (floating matter) from the surface of a liquid, as with a spoon or ladle: to skim the cream from milk.
slack off — not tight, taut, firm, or tense; loose: a slack rope.
sleep off — to take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodily functions and the natural suspension, complete or partial, of consciousness; cease being awake.
sound off — the sensation produced by stimulation of the organs of hearing by vibrations transmitted through the air or other medium.
spin off — the act of causing a spinning or whirling motion.
sponge off — any aquatic, chiefly marine animal of the phylum Porifera, having a porous structure and usually a horny, siliceous or calcareous internal skeleton or framework, occurring in large, sessile colonies.
square off — a rectangle having all four sides of equal length.
stave off — one of the thin, narrow, shaped pieces of wood that form the sides of a cask, tub, or similar vessel.
strike off — to deal a blow or stroke to (a person or thing), as with the fist, a weapon, or a hammer; hit.
swear off — to make a solemn declaration or affirmation by some sacred being or object, as a deity or the Bible.
sweat off — to perspire, especially freely or profusely.
switch off — the act or process of switching off a power supply, light source, appliance, etc.
tear off — designed to be easily removed by tearing, usually along a perforated line: a sales letter with a tear-off order blank.
tee off — Golf. Also called teeing ground. the starting place, usually a hard mound of earth, at the beginning of play for each hole. a small wooden, plastic, metal, or rubber peg from which the ball is driven, as in teeing off.
tell off — to give an account or narrative of; narrate; relate (a story, tale, etc.): to tell the story of Lincoln's childhood.
throw off — to propel or cast in any way, especially to project or propel from the hand by a sudden forward motion or straightening of the arm and wrist: to throw a ball.
tick off — a slight, sharp, recurring click, tap, or beat, as of a clock.
tip off — a small present of money given directly to someone for performing a service or menial task; gratuity: He gave the waiter a dollar as a tip.
top off — the highest or loftiest point or part of anything; apex; summit. Synonyms: zenith, acme, peak, pinnacle, vertex. Antonyms: bottom, base, foot, lowest point.
toss off — to throw, pitch, or fling, especially to throw lightly or carelessly: to toss a piece of paper into the wastebasket.
touch off — to put the hand, finger, etc., on or into contact with (something) to feel it: He touched the iron cautiously.
turn off — to cause to move around on an axis or about a center; rotate: to turn a wheel.
walk off — an act or instance of walking or going on foot.
ward off — a division or district of a city or town, as for administrative or political purposes.
wear off — to carry or have on the body or about the person as a covering, equipment, ornament, or the like: to wear a coat; to wear a saber; to wear a disguise.
write off — a cancellation from the accounts as a loss.
Three-syllable rhymes
bugger off — If someone buggers off, they go away quickly and suddenly. People often say bugger off as a rude way of telling someone to go away.
carry off — If you carry something off, you do it successfully.
damping off — any of various diseases of plants, esp the collapse and death of seedlings caused by the parasitic fungus Pythium debaryanum and related fungi in conditions of excessive moisture
level off — a device used for determining or adjusting something to a horizontal surface.
on and off — so as to be no longer supported or attached: This button is about to come off.
pension off — a fixed amount, other than wages, paid at regular intervals to a person or to the person's surviving dependents in consideration of past services, age, merit, poverty, injury or loss sustained, etc.: a retirement pension.
polish off — to make smooth and glossy, especially by rubbing or friction: to polish a brass doorknob.
taper off — to become smaller or thinner toward one end.
