draw off
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English
[edit]Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Verb
[edit]draw off (third-person singular simple present draws off, present participle drawing off, simple past drew off, past participle drawn off)
- (transitive, idiomatic) To remove by using a siphon.
- The butler drew off wine from a barrel.
- (transitive, dated, slang) To distract (someone).
- We need a diversion to draw them off.
- (intransitive) To retire or retreat.
- 1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC:
- The dog obeyed the significant beck of his finger, and they drew off, stealthily, together.
- 1966, Robert William Murphy, The Phantom Setter, and Other Stories, page 102:
- One of the lynxes moved; it drew off a little farther, as though deciding to abandon the fight.