Word.ws English Dictionary

spell off

US/ˌspɛl ˈɔf/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

cot caught merger/ˌspɛl ˈɑf/

spell off verb: in a spelling bee, of two or more participants, to spell words one after the other until a champion is determined. Usually refers to a series of rounds of spelling in which no spellers are eliminated. Also the alternative spelling of spell-off.

Verb (1)

spell off (third-person singular simple present spells off, present participle spelling off, simple past and past participle spelled off or (chiefly UK) spelt off)

  1. In a spelling bee, of two or more participants, to spell words one after the other until a champion is determined. Usually refers to a series of rounds of spelling in which no spellers are eliminated.
  2. (broadly) To participate in a spelling bee.

Verb (2)

spell off (third-person singular simple present spells off, present participle spelling off, simple past and past participle spelled off)

  1. (transitive) To relieve (a worker) temporarily by taking his or her place.

Also used as

spell off is also the alternative spelling of spell-off.

Forms of spell off

Verb
third-person singular presentspells off
present participlespelling off
past participlespelled off
pastspelled off
past participle UKspelt off
past UKspelt off
Noun
pluralspell offs

Questions about spell off

What does spell off mean?
Spell off means in a spelling bee, of two or more participants, to spell words one after the other until a champion is determined. Usually refers to a series of rounds of spelling in which no spellers are eliminated.
What part of speech is spell off?
Spell off is a verb.
How do you pronounce spell off?
Spell off is pronounced /ˌspɛl ˈɔf/ (US).
What is the past tense of spell off?
The past tense of spell off is spelled off.

Words near spell off in the dictionary

  1. spell checking
  2. spell checks
  3. spell doom
  4. spell it out
  5. spell of weather
  6. spell off
  7. spell offs
  8. spell one's name
  9. spell out
  10. spell someone's name
  11. spell things out

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: spell 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:

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