give off

produce and release heat, light, smell, or gas

B2

What does "give sth off" mean?

To give off something means to produce and send out a substance or form of energy — such as heat, light, smoke, or a smell — often continuously or as a natural by-product of a process. It describes the relationship between a source and what it releases into the surrounding environment. A burning candle gives off light and warmth; a chemical reaction might give off toxic fumes; a ripe piece of fruit gives off a sweet scent. What makes this phrasal verb distinctive is that the subject is almost always the thing doing the emitting — a fire, an engine, a plant — rather than a person performing a deliberate action. It is equally at home in everyday conversation and in scientific or technical writing, making it one of the more versatile and widely useful phrasal verbs at this level.

Examples

How to use it

source + give off + emission

The most common pattern: the emitting source is the subject, and the noun describing what is released follows the particle directly.

The gas burner gives off a faint blue light when it's lit.

source + give off + a/an + countable emission noun

When the emission is a countable noun (smell, glow, signal), it takes an article before it.

The overheated engine gave off a burning smell that filled the garage.

source + give off + uncountable emission noun

When the emission is an uncountable noun (heat, smoke, radiation), no article is needed.

Decomposing organic matter gives off carbon dioxide as part of the natural cycle.

give + short object + off

Separation with a short pronoun is grammatically possible but sounds unnatural; avoid this in most situations and use the full noun phrase after the particle instead.

The substance gives it off very slowly at room temperature.

be giving off + emission

The continuous form emphasises that the emission is happening right now or was ongoing at a particular moment.

The pile of wet leaves in the corner was giving off a musty, earthy smell.

Common Collocations

give off heatgive off lightgive off a smellgive off fumesgive off smokegive off radiation

Common Mistakes

Confusing 'give off' with 'give out'

'Give off' means to produce and release something like heat, smoke, or a smell. 'Give out' means either to distribute something to several people or for something to stop working. Using 'give out' when you mean to describe an emission will change the meaning entirely.

✗ The candle was giving out a warm, amber glow.
✓ The candle was giving off a warm, amber glow.
Using the passive construction

Although it might seem logical, the passive form of 'give off' sounds very unnatural to native speakers. It is much more natural to keep the emitting source as the subject of an active sentence.

✗ A strong smell was given off by the chemical.
✓ The chemical gave off a strong smell.
Separating with a long noun phrase

While 'give off' is technically separable, placing a long noun phrase between the verb and the particle sounds awkward and unnatural. Always keep longer objects after the particle.

✗ The reaction gave a large amount of toxic gas off.
✓ The reaction gave off a large amount of toxic gas.

Usage

This phrasal verb is neutral in register and is used in both everyday conversation and scientific or technical writing. It is slightly more common in written English in formal contexts (chemistry, environmental science), but also appears naturally in spoken English when describing fires, cooking, or chemicals.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a person be the subject of 'give off', or does it have to be a thing?

In the core physical sense — producing heat, smoke, or a smell — the subject is almost always an inanimate source like a fire, a chemical, or a plant. However, in informal modern usage, people do say things like 'she gives off a very calm energy' to describe the impression someone projects. This is a more metaphorical, informal extension of the same phrasal verb and is best treated as a separate meaning.

What kinds of things can 'give off' be used with? Are there any restrictions?

The noun after 'give off' should describe a type of emission — something that is released or radiated from a source, such as heat, light, smoke, fumes, a scent, radiation, or gas. It doesn't work well with objects that can simply be handed to someone or moved around, since those situations call for different verbs. As a rough test: if the thing 'spreads out' from a source into the environment, 'give off' is likely the right choice.

Is 'give off' used in scientific writing, or is it too informal?

It is genuinely neutral in register, meaning it fits naturally in both scientific writing and everyday conversation. You'll find it in chemistry and environmental science texts ('the reaction gives off carbon dioxide') just as readily as in casual speech ('that cheese is giving off a terrible smell'). You don't need to replace it with a more formal word like 'emit' unless you have a stylistic reason to do so.

Does 'give off' have any tense forms I should avoid?

It works naturally in the simple present, simple past, present continuous, past continuous, and present perfect. Forms like the future continuous ('will be giving off') are grammatically possible but can sound overly formal or stilted in most contexts. The future perfect ('will have given off') is best avoided altogether as it sounds very unnatural with this phrasal verb.

Is 'give off' the same as 'emit'? Can I always swap one for the other?

'Give off' and 'emit' are very close in meaning in most physical contexts — 'the engine gave off fumes' and 'the engine emitted fumes' describe the same event. The main practical difference is that 'emit' tends to feel slightly more formal or technical, while 'give off' is the more natural choice in spoken English and everyday writing. In scientific contexts, both are widely accepted.

Related Phrasal Verbs

give out sth

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