screw off

verb

"screw-off" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“screw off” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To remove the lid of a jar or other container by unscrewing it.

Corpus desk

Index EN-screw-off · screw off · English

screw off · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for screw off
PropertyValue
Headwordscrew off
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “screw off” in English

screw offfalls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

screw off is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

screw off doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is screw off, spelled S-C-R-E-W- -O-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    To remove the lid of a jar or other container by unscrewing it.
  2. 2
    To fail to do one's work; to goof off.
  3. 3
    To leave; to bugger off.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how screw off appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Hold it in two hands and screw off the lid. Set the lid down. Inside are pickled onions.
  2. When the boss wasn't around on the weekend they would sometimes screw off.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "screw off"?
"screw off" is spelled S-C-R-E-W- -O-F-F.
What does "screw off" mean?
As a verb, "screw off" means: To remove the lid of a jar or other container by unscrewing it.
What language does "screw off" come from?
"screw off" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list