shoot off en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Meanings
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(colloquial) To leave quickly.
I have to shoot off: my interview starts in under an hour.
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(idiomatic) To do (something, usually a written or verbal communication) quickly, and without hesitation or forethought.
In other situations, you might know someone who adds colour with personal anecdotes and feelings. You could shoot off a similar response – perhaps including a short story of your own to hammer home your point.
2020 December 21, Bryan Lufkin, “How 'linguistic mirroring' can make you more convincing”, in BBC:
- To overshoot the bounds of a set when filming, showing part of what lies outside it.
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Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see shoot, off.
"But the Civil Aviation Authority is very worried about 'flyaway' - if someone has bought a GPS jammer on eBay because they don't want drones near their house, it can cause drones to get completely lost and shoot off in a random direction until they run out of battery.
2025 July 23, Paul Clifton, “Air force: drones' developing railway role”, in RAIL, number 1040, page 29:His arm got shot off in the war.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| shooting off | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| shot off | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| shot off | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| shoots off | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |
Deriveds
shoot off at the mouth · shoot off one's mouth