take off

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"take-off" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“take 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
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To remove.

Corpus desk

Index EN-take-off · take off · English

take off · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "T" 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 take off
PropertyValue
Headwordtake off
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “take off” in English

take 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

take off is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 11 senses are on record.

No generated misspelling entries exist for take off in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct English form is take off, spelled T-A-K-E- -O-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    To remove.
  2. 2
    To imitate (somebody), often in a satirical manner.
  3. 3
    To leave the ground and ascend into the air or into flight.
  4. 4
    To stand up on a surfboard and begin to surf a breaking wave.
  5. 5
    To become successful, to flourish.
  6. 6
    To depart.
  7. 7
    To quantify.
  8. 8
    To absent oneself from (work or other responsibility), especially with permission.
  9. 9
    To take drugs; to inject drugs.
  10. 10
    To steal (something) or rob (someone).
  11. 11
    To swallow.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. He took off his shoes.
  2. The test grader takes off a point for every misspelled word.

Synonyms

doffapeimitateimpersonatemimicbloomblossomflourishgrowthrivedepart

Antonyms

donput onlandlandtouch down

This word in other languages

despegar(Español)enlever(Français)ausziehen(Deutsch)tirar(Português)

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 "take off"?
"take off" is spelled T-A-K-E- -O-F-F.
What does "take off" mean?
As a verb, "take off" means: To remove.
What language does "take off" come from?
"take 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