The Phrasal Verb 'Throw Off' Explained
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Updated: 36 minutes ago
An explanation of the different meanings of the English phrasal verb 'throw off' from a native speaker, with lots of examples in context
Hello and welcome to my website for English learners all about phrasal verbs where I explain their different meanings to help you understand, learn and use them like a native.
This article is all about the phrasal verb 'throw off' and its different meanings in English. It is a versatile phrasal verb and you may be surprised to know that there are at least five different ways to use it, which range from quickly removing your clothes to confusing someone. In the post, I will go through each of the applications of 'throw off' systematically and explain each one for you, with lots of example sentences in context to show you how it is used. So, let's make a start and see what the phrasal verb 'throw off' is all about....
QUICK ANSWER: What does the phrasal verb 'throw off' mean?The phrasal verb 'throw off' has five meanings in English....
Keep reading to learn how to use each of these.... |
THE BASICS
THROW OFF: KEY INFORMATION
Usage | Medium |
Number of meanings | 5 |
Past tense forms | Threw off / Thrown off |
Separable? | Yes |
Before we get too involved in the phrasal verb 'throw off', let's start the post by considering the meaning of the individual words 'throw' and 'off'.
Throw - 'To throw' is a common verb that can often cause pronunciation problems for English learners due to the 't-h-r' letter combination that it starts with. The main meaning of the verb 'to throw' is 'to make something move through the air using your arms and hands' and most of the time when you hear it, it it is likely to have this meaning. In addition, it also has some lesser used meanings which include 'to host an event like a party', 'to move quickly or carelessly' and 'to confuse'.
The player threw the ball to his teammate.
The winner is the competitor who can throw the discus the furthest.
Jenny threw an egg at the politician.
I'm throwing a party for my birthday next week.
John threw his bags in the back of the car and quickly got in.
I was thrown when I called Ben's number and someone else answered the phone.
Off - The particle 'off' is one that is commonly found in phrasal verbs and is the opposite of the particle 'on'. It can be used to add many different meanings to a phrasal verb and these include detachment (pull off), removal (take off), delay (put off), gradual disappearance (ease off) and ending (turn off), among others.
So, now that we have looked at the basics, let's move on to the different meanings of the phrasal verb 'throw off'....
MEANING 1: Literal
CEFR Language Level | A2 - Elementary |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To launch off |
Separable? | Yes |
The first meaning of the phrasal verb 'throw off' that we will look at is the literal usage of the combination of the two words, which many of you will know already.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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When used literally, 'throw off' simply means to take something that is on a surface and throw it so that it is no longer on it. For example, a sailor might throw a rope off a boat in order to secure it to a cleat in the harbour or children may throw stones off a cliff into the sea below.
In addition to throwing something with your arms, it can also be used to describe when a force causes someone or something to be thrown from a surface.
Examples sentences....
They threw the old furniture off the roof.
Someone threw a bottle off the bridge.
Luke threw the ball off the balcony.
The children were throwing stones off the cliff into the sea.
Maria threw the broken chair off the back of the truck.
Don't throw anything off the roof; someone could be walking below.
The force of the crash threw the rider off his bike.
She was thrown off her feet by the explosion.
One other notable sub-application of this literal usage is with horse riding as it is fairly common to use 'throw off' when talking about when a horse causes its rider to fall from its back through its sudden or wild movements. Moreover, when the rider is the focus or subject it is common to use the passive 'be thrown off' or 'get thrown off' forms.
Example sentences....
The horse suddenly threw its rider off.
Suzanna nearly got thrown off her horse when it suddenly stopped.
The horse reared up and threw him off.
MEANING 2: To be rid of something that restricts you
CEFR Language Level | B2 - Upper intermediate |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To |
Separable? | Yes |
This second application of the phrasal verb 'throw off' is the first proper phrasal verb meaning in the true sense and means 'to be rid of something that restricts you'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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To be rid of something = To be free of something unwanted or unpleasant so that you no longer have it in your current situation or life. |
There are several different ways that this application can be used, so I will explain each of these individually for you.
Something vital in our lives that can occasionally restrict us and be unwanted is clothing. We often use this application of 'throw off' with clothes to refer to when someone quickly, hurriedly or carelessly removes one item of clothing or all of them. This is similar to the phrasal verb 'take off', however while 'take off' is neutral, 'throw off' implies quick or thoughtless removal e.g. imagine you are at the beach and you are desperate to go swimming in the sea and so you throw your clothes off and jump straight in (I never do that as the water is always too cold for me to rush!).
Example sentences....
Joe threw off his coat and sat down on the sofa.
Natasha threw off her jacket as soon as she got inside.
I threw off my shoes and jumped into bed.
Martin threw off his wet clothes and grabbed a towel.
The woman threw off her dressing gown and got into the shower.
Another common area of life with which we use 'throw off' in this way is illness, particularly infectious diseases like coughs and colds that are not usually serious. If you throw off an illness, your body successfully fights it and you stop suffering from it. It is probably most common to hear this one being used when a person has a long-lasting illness that they are unable to 'throw off'.
Example sentences....
I can't seem to throw this cold off.
Kate has finally thrown off the flu and is feeling much better.
It took Jim several weeks to throw the infection off completely.
I've been trying to throw off this cough for days.
Pippa rested for a few days and managed to throw off the virus.
Tom returned to work after throwing off a nasty cold.
Lastly, we can also just use this application of 'throw off' to describe becoming free of something that restrict or limits you or your life in some way. This could be something on a large scale like a government or dictator, or it could be something that affects your daily life such as people's high expectations of you or social conventions.
You may also hear this being used in a slightly figurative sense with the word 'shackles' (a tool used to control slaves in the past - see the picture above). When we do this, the word 'shackles' is used metaphorically to mean 'restrictions'.
Example sentences....
The country fought to throw off foreign rule.
The rebels wanted to throw off the control of the government.
The people eventually threw off their oppressors and gained their freedom.
Abbie wanted to throw off the expectations that had shaped her life.
The younger generation began to throw off traditional social conventions.
The movement encouraged women to throw off the restrictions imposed on them by society.
The country struggled to throw off the shackles of colonialism.
Margaret was determined to throw off the shackles of tradition and live life on her own terms.
MEANING 3: To evade someone who is following you
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To elude, to escape |
Separable? | Yes |
I could really have included this third application of the phrasal verb 'throw off' in the previous one as it is very similar in meaning and is 'to evade someone who is following you'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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To evade = To avoid or escape someone, often in a clever way. |
Apart from an unpleasant encounter that I had once with a very drunk man in France who decided for no reason that he didn't like me, I can say that I have been lucky in my life to have never had anyone following or chasing me in a serious way (I'll save the full story for another day 😉). One thing I will tell you now about that experience is that I was able to escape from the man after he started chasing me and so therefore I can say that "I threw him off".
We can use this for anytime that a person or animal is being followed or chased and the target manages to evade the pursuer, however most commonly this is due to something clever or unexpected that the target does. It's the sort of thing that you see in Hollywood action and thriller movies all the time.
On a grammatical note, this is a separable usage and can be used both ways, however don't forget that pronouns must always go between 'throw' and 'off'.
Example sentences....
We took a different route to throw off anyone who might be following us.
The thief ran through a crowded market to throw off the police.
James Bond turned down several side streets in an attempt to throw off his pursuers.
The spy changed trains twice to throw off the people following her.
The suspect managed to throw off the police and disappear into the crowd.
They deliberately took a longer route to throw off anyone who was following them.
Alan thought he'd thrown off his pursuers, but they soon caught up with him.
The fox suddenly changed direction to throw off the dogs chasing it.
MEANING 4: To produce and release something
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To give off, to give out, to emit, to produce |
Separable? | Yes |
We are going to move away from the idea of being rid of something unwanted for our fourth application of the phrasal verb 'throw off', which is 'to produce and release something' .
Nouns commonly used with this application:
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I need to state first of all that for this application, I am not referring to production in a business sense, but rather in the sense of producing and releasing something into the air that can be detected by the senses. This typically involves naturally occurring phenomena or machines to describe things like light, smells and sounds.
For example, if you look into the sky on a clear night, you will see a huge number of stars all throwing off light into the universe. We also have our own star, the sun, which throws off enough heat and light to keep us alive. Some examples closer to home are that fires throw out smoke, flowers throw out scents and radiators throw out heat.
The idea behind this is that the thing produced is created and then moves or spreads away from the source when we can then detect it.
Example sentences....
The fire was throwing off a lot of heat.
The candles threw off a soft, warm light.
The engine throws off a considerable amount of heat when it's running.
The burning wood threw off sparks into the night air.
The chemical reaction threw off a small amount of gas.
The factory chimneys were throwing off thick clouds of smoke.
The old radiator throws off enough heat to warm the whole room.
The flowers threw off a sweet scent that filled the garden.
MEANING 5: To confuse
CEFR Language Level | C1 - Advanced |
Usage | Medium |
Where is it used? | Everywhere |
Potential synonyms | To throw out |
Separable? | Yes |
The fifth and final application of the phrasal verb 'throw off' that we will look at it is one that means 'to confuse'.
Nouns commonly used with this application....
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We can use this last application to talk about both people, data and numerical calculations.
When we use it to talk about people, it is to refer to when someone is confused, slightly worried or unsettled because something happens that they were not expecting. As a result, the person is not able to think clearly or act or perform as well as they normally would for a short period of time until the feeling of being 'thrown off' subsides. This can often be just seconds.
For example, an actor on stage in a theatre may be thrown off if something happens that was not supposed to and they may temporarily forget their lines. Alternatively, if the interviewer asks you a question in a job interview that were you not prepared for, it can throw you off you and block your concentration, affecting how you answer.
Examples in context....
His unexpected question threw me off, and I didn't know how to respond.
The sudden change of plan threw everyone off.
Don't let one difficult question throw you off during the interview.
My boss's strange reaction threw me off for a moment.
The interruption completely threw Alex off, and he forgot what he was saying.
I was doing well in the presentation until a question from the audience threw me off.
The confusing instructions threw us off, so we ended up doing the task incorrectly.
The early goal seemed to throw the team off, and they struggled for the rest of the match.
When we apply the phrasal verb 'throw off' to data and numerical calculations, it is used to mean that something causes the data or the total of the calculation to be skewed or wrong.
For instance, if you are trying to add lots of figures together and you accidentally add an extra 0 to one of the numbers that you are adding, it will throw the total off and it will be wrong. Alternatively, if you are taking measurements using a device that is faulty, the measurements may be inaccurate, therefore throwing off the data.
Example sentences....
One unusually large value threw off the average.
A small error in the original figures threw off all our calculations.
The missing data could throw off the results.
Including those figures would throw off the final total.
One incorrect measurement threw off the entire calculation.
The unusually warm winter has thrown off the annual figures.
We have now reached the end of this post and I hope that you have found it useful and that it has helped you to understand how to use the phrasal verb 'throw off' more confidently and naturally.
Feel free to leave any comments, feedback or your own sentences using 'throw off' in the section below. Also, if you found the post useful, please like and share it on social media.
Do you want to improve your phrasal verb skills?Now that you have read the article, I hope you've learned something new. However, reading is only the first step to mastering phrasal verbs: the key is practice and repetition. That's why I've created a series of PDF workbooks with clear explanations, natural example sentences, exercises, speaking questions and answer keys. This will help you understand and remember common English phrasal verbs and use them confidently in real-life situations. Browse the workbooks here and start improving your phrasal verbs skills today.... |
Thanks so much for reading and see you next time! James 😊
THE END
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