doff
/dɔf/verb
doff is spelled D-O-F-F: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, doff means “To remove or take off (something worn on the body such as armour or clothing, or something carried)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in doff?
| Letters | 4: D-O-F-F |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 83,271st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is doff?
Doff appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce doff?
- UK /dɒf/
- US /dɔf/
- US /dɑf/
Doff has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-doff.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-doff.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with doff?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as doff from its last stressed vowel (/ɔf/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of doff
- doffs present, singular, he/she/it
- doffing participle, present
- doffed participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does doff mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To remove or take off (something worn on the body such as armour or clothing, or something carried).
- 2
To remove or tip (a hat or other headwear) in greeting or salutation, or as a mark of respect.
The rustics doffed their hats at the clergy.
- 3
To undress (oneself); to divest, to strip.
- 4
To cast aside or get rid of (something), to throw off.
Doff that stupid idea: it will never work.
- 5
To remove (a bobbin or spindle which is full of spun yarn) from a spinning frame for replacement with an empty one.
- 6
To remove (small pieces of cotton or other plant fibre, etc.) from a carding cylinder.
- 7
obsoleteTo put off or turn away (someone) with an excuse, etc.
- 8
archaicrareTo remove or tip a hat or other headwear in greeting or salutation, or as a mark of respect.
noun
- 1
obsoleterareFollowed by off: an act of putting off or turning away someone with an excuse, etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Doff in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to remove or take off (something worn on the body such as armour or clothing, or:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does doff come from?
The verb is derived from Late Middle English doffen (“to take off (clothing); to remove (headwear) as a sign of respect; to remove (grease) by skimming”), a contraction of Middle English do off, don off, from Old English dōn of, from dōn (“to do; to put; to take off, remove”) + of (“from; off”). Dōn is derived from Proto-West Germanic *dōn (“to do; to place, put”), from Proto-Germanic *dōną (“to do; to make; to place, put”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to do; to place, put”). By surface analysis, do + off.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).