see off
2 meanings
go with someone to say goodbye when they leave
What does "see off" mean in this sense?
Examples
- We went to the airport to see her off before her flight to Sydney.
- Did you see off your parents at the station this morning?
- The whole town came out to see the soldiers off when they left for overseas.
How to use it
Pronoun objects always go between the verb and particle — this is the most common structure in everyday use.
Her whole family drove to the airport to see her off before the long flight.
Full noun phrases can also go between the verb and particle, which is very natural, especially with shorter noun phrases.
A small crowd gathered at the harbour to see the crew off.
Longer or more complex noun phrases tend to stay after the particle rather than being split.
The mayor came to the station to see off the visiting delegation.
This frame makes the physical journey to the departure point explicit, which is the core meaning of the phrasal verb.
We went to the bus station early in the morning to see our friends off.
Adding a location after the particle specifies exactly where the farewell takes place.
His colleagues saw him off at the departure gate with a round of applause.
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
When the object is a pronoun, it must go between the verb and the particle. Placing it after the particle is ungrammatical in English.
'See off' specifically means going to the place of departure to say farewell — it is not a general synonym for 'say goodbye'. If you said goodbye at someone's front door or over the phone, 'see off' is not the right choice.
'Send off' can be used more broadly and does not always imply that you are physically present at the point of departure; it can also refer to dispatching items like parcels or letters. 'See off' always requires your physical presence to say goodbye to a person.
Usage
This phrasal verb implies you physically go to the place where someone is departing (an airport, station, etc.) to say goodbye — it's not just a synonym for 'say goodbye'. It is neutral in register and used equally in speech and writing.
defeat or successfully deal with someone who threatens you
Sense 2: What does "see sb/sth off" mean?
Examples
- The home side saw off their rivals with a dominant second-half performance.
- The company successfully saw off a hostile takeover bid last year.
- Can the champion see off the young challenger in tonight's final?
How to use it
The most common pattern — the subject (a team, company, person, or party) defeats the object, which is always something adversarial.
The defending champions saw off the competition with an impressive performance.
The object is typically a full noun phrase, often with a determiner like 'the', 'a', or 'any'.
The board managed to see off a hostile takeover attempt from a rival firm.
Separation is possible but uncommon in this sense; use it only with short, simple noun phrases.
The local team saw the challenge off comfortably in the end.
Frequently used with 'manage to' or 'be able to' to highlight the achievement of defeating the challenge.
The prime minister was able to see off criticism from within her own party.
Used with modal verbs to discuss ability or possibility, often in questions or predictions about an upcoming contest.
Can the home side see off the league leaders this weekend?
Common Collocations
Common Mistakes
The most common mistake is mixing up the 'defeat' sense with the 'farewell' sense, where you accompany someone as they leave a place. Check the object: if it's a rival, threat, or challenge, the meaning is 'defeat'; if it's a person departing somewhere, the meaning is 'say goodbye'.
Passive constructions with this sense feel unnatural and are rarely used. Keep the subject as the active winner and put the challenge or opponent as the object.
'See off' in this sense describes a completed outcome rather than an ongoing action, so continuous tenses sound awkward. Use the simple past, present perfect, or simple present instead.
Usage
This meaning is especially common in British English journalism, particularly in sports and political reporting. It is more formal and written than spoken, though you will hear it in sports commentary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does 'see off' always involve going somewhere, or can I use it if I say goodbye at home?
'See off' always implies that you go to the departure point — an airport, train station, port, and so on. If you said goodbye at someone's house or anywhere other than the point of departure, you would not normally use 'see off'. The effort of going to that location is central to the meaning.
Can 'see off' be used in the passive, like 'She was seen off by her friends'?
It is grammatically possible, but you will rarely hear it used this way in natural English. Speakers almost always describe the situation from the perspective of the person doing the seeing-off, not the person leaving. It is much more natural to say 'Her friends saw her off at the airport'.
Does 'see off' have another meaning? I've seen it used in sports news and it seems different.
Yes, 'see off' has a second, separate meaning: to defeat or overcome an opponent or threat. That sense is completely different from this one. This page covers only the farewell meaning — going to a departure point to say goodbye to someone who is leaving on a journey.
Can I use 'see off' in the present continuous, like 'I'm seeing my colleague off tomorrow'?
The present continuous sounds a little awkward with this phrasal verb unless you are describing something happening at that exact moment ('We are seeing them off right now'). For future plans, 'going to' is more natural: 'I'm going to see my colleague off at the station tomorrow'.
What kinds of things can follow 'see off'? Can the object be luggage or a letter?
The object of 'see off' (in this sense) is always a person or group of people — the one who is leaving. You cannot use it with luggage, packages, or abstract things. For objects like parcels, 'send off' is the right choice.
Is 'see off' in this meaning more British or American English?
It is more common in British English, particularly in newspaper sports reporting and political journalism. American English speakers are more likely to use alternatives like 'fend off' or simply 'defeat'. You will still understand it in American contexts, but it is less likely to appear there.
Does 'see off' always suggest an easy or comfortable victory?
Not always, but it often carries a connotation of decisiveness. When a journalist writes that a team 'saw off' their opponents, it usually implies the winner was in control rather than scraping through. If the struggle itself is the focus, 'fight off' might be a more natural choice.
What kinds of objects can follow 'see off' in this sense?
The object is almost always something adversarial — a rival, competitor, opponent, challenge, threat, bid, attack, or criticism. You would not use this sense with neutral or friendly objects. Common examples include 'see off the competition', 'see off a takeover bid', and 'see off a legal challenge'.
Does 'see off' have other meanings I might come across?
Yes — 'see off' also means to accompany someone to the place where they are departing, such as a train station or airport, to say goodbye. These two senses look identical in form, but the context and the nature of the object make it clear which meaning is intended.
Is 'see off' used more in writing or in speech?
In this 'defeat' sense, it appears most frequently in written journalism — especially sports match reports and political commentary. You will also hear it in broadcast sports commentary, but it is less common in everyday informal conversation, where people are more likely to say 'beat' or 'deal with'.
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