Word.ws English Dictionary

reel off

reel off verb: used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see reel, off.

Verb

reel off (third-person singular simple present reels off, present participle reeling off, simple past and past participle reeled off)

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see reel, off.
    Synonyms:
    rattle off, trot out
  2. (idiomatic, transitive) To list effortlessly and quickly.
    • There are 12 months left before the next World Cup and every England fan can reel off Sven Goran Eriksson's starting XI within 15 seconds.2005, Independent, "That's settled: England's team for 2006", 10 June
    • When asked about inspirational influences in his life, he reeled off a list of folks whose names would surprise no one.2008, American Cowboy (magazine), Aug-Sep, vol. 15, no. 2
  3. (idiomatic, transitive) To produce (e.g. a performance), in an effortless manner.
    • [...] the average for the entire 123.7 miles from Lavino to Rogoredo was 109.2 m.p.h. and in all the 195.8 miles from Florence to Milan were reeled off in 115.2 min. start to stop at an average of 101.8 m.p.h.1960 March, G. Freeman Allen, “Europe's most luxurious express - the "Settebello"”, in Trains Illustrated, page 146
    • Last year, the Royals were 5-17 and little did anyone think they would reel off 12 straight wins in 1996.1996 February 21, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Synonyms of reel off

Forms of reel off

third-person singular presentreels off
present participlereeling off
past participlereeled off
pastreeled off

Origin of reel off

From reel (noun), suggesting a mechanical movement.

Questions about reel off

What does reel off mean?
Reel off means used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see reel, off.
What part of speech is reel off?
Reel off is a verb.
What is the past tense of reel off?
The past tense of reel off is reeled off.

Words near reel off in the dictionary

  1. reeky
  2. reel
  3. reel in
  4. reel mower
  5. reel mowers
  6. reel off
  7. reel out
  8. reel oven
  9. reel ovens
  10. reel pull
  11. reel to reel tape

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: reel off (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-reel off.ogg.

Cite this entry: “reel off.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/reel_off. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.