throw off

Verb

throw off (third-person singular simple present throws off, present participle throwing off, simple past threw off, past participle thrown off)

1. (idiomatic) To confuse; especially, to lose a pursuer.
   • I never saw her without glasses before, so it threw me off when she got contact lenses.
   • "Then," said the tinker, "maybe the thing for us to do would be to go by queer ways, by bohereens and the like of that, and for us to get of the straight road to Rathmoon, the way that no-one will find us except the tinkers, for we can't throw off them."1940, Lord Dunsany, The Story of Mona Sheehy, page 170
2. (idiomatic) To introduce errors or inaccuracies; to skew.
   • The dirt in the apparatus threw off the results.
   • “Varying the speeds of your pitches to throw off the timing of the hitter is much more important than it used to be,” Yankees righthander David Cone says.2011, Tom Verducci, Inside Baseball: The Best of Tom Verducci
3. (transitive) Of a horse, to eject its rider.
4. To fling away.
   • Long before the tidal wave had again grwon sufficiently high to throw off spray, the spray last thrown off would have passed beyond its reach.1882 March 11, Richard A. Proctor, “The Vistas of the Past: The Moon and the Earth”, in The Living Age, volume 152, page 813
   • It was conceded on the final hearing and is shown by the proof, and I find as a fact that, while this rapid revolution of the cans fresh from the solder bath would throw off superflous^([sic]) solder, it would frequently throw off too much at points so as to leave unsoldered places, causing leaks .1910, The Federal Reporter - Volume 180, page 423
5. To expel, reject, or renounce.
   • Silver is gotten thus, They take the Ore and dry it, then they burn it, and powder it very fine, they dilute it with Water, and throw off the light Powder that swims at Top, by decanting gently:1727, Edward Strother, Materia Medica, page 196
   • Moreover, during the progress of disease, nothing assists more the powers of the constitution, which tends toward health, and to throw off the enemy, than a cheerful and hopeful mind; as the people call it, a "good spirit;"1852, Spencer Thomson, A Dictionary of Domestic Medicine and Household Surgery, page 194
6. To split off.
   • And when what is called the black sap is descending the tree, the bark taken off is black, and loses its original color; and at this time also the bark begins to throw off a scurf , more especially young bark without much cork on it ; this outer skin having less of the proper sap or juice , and...1824, John Claudius Loudon, An Encyclopaedia of Gardening, page 968
   • The Reviewer states: "Bellal told Major Denham that the KOWARA did not throw off a branch at Boussa, but that a CONFLUENCE of branches took place at Boussa, the one from the south and the other from the NORTHWEST."1826 June, “Geography of Central Africa: Denham and Clapperton's Journals”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, volume 19, page 700
7. To give forth in an unpremeditated manner.
   • Then when the work train comes along it will be an easy matter to throw off the required number, almost in place.1904, Walter Mason Camp, Notes on Track: Construction and Maintenance - Volume 2, page 720
8. To deduct from a price in order to compensate for problems.
   • Now , wasn't it the understanding that you and Hall together were to throw off two thousand dollars from the amount, or from your interest in bid?1885, Journal of the Senate of the State of Ohio - Volume 81, page 182
   • Mr. Parsons came in to see me about the matter, and wanted to know what I would throw off from the mortgage. I told him I wouldn't throw off one cent, and I had no reason why I should throw off anything, that I was protected.1897, Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division Third Dept. Vol. 72, page 36
9. (informal, transitive) To remove (clothing) haphazardly and tossing it on the floor.
   • She threw off her coat.
10. (Australia, slang) To insult or verbally abuse (someone).
11. Synonym of bear off.

    Synonyms:

    bear off