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screw off. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
screw off, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
screw off in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
screw off you have here. The definition of the word
screw off will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
screw off, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Verb
screw off (third-person singular simple present screws off, present participle screwing off, simple past and past participle screwed off)
- To remove the lid of a jar or other container by unscrewing it.
2004, Cathy Myata, Speaking rules!: Games and activities for creating effective speakers, presenters and storytellers, page 52:Hold it in two hands and screw off the lid. Set the lid down. Inside are pickled onions.
- (idiomatic, colloquial) To fail to do one's work; to goof off.
When the boss wasn't around on the weekend they would sometimes screw off.
1878, Robert White Stevens, On the stowage of ships and their cargoes: with information regarding freights, charter parties, &c., &c., page 798:On account of the high rate of wages at Sydney, stevedores will not "screw off" now so willingly as they did formerly.
- (idiomatic, colloquial) To leave; to bugger off.
I finished the work early so I screwed off.
Interjection
screw off
- (idiomatic, vulgar, dismissal) To tell someone to leave or to stop being bothersome.
I said no. Now screw off!
- (idiomatic, possibly vulgar) An expression of surprise or disbelief.
"We just won a new car!" "Screw off! You're joking, right?"
Usage notes
As a way of urging someone to leave, it is considered vulgar in many settings but may be only a lighthearted rebuke in others.
See also