dash off
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb (transitive, intransitive): 1. To write or compose something very quickly and often without much preparation or detail: This meaning emphasizes the speed and spontaneity of the writing act. 2. To leave or depart hastily: This meaning focuses on the act of leaving a place quickly.
Usage and Examples
Verb (writing):
- I need to dash off a quick email before the meeting starts.
- The journalist dashed off the article in under an hour to meet the deadline.
- He can dash off a beautiful sketch in just a few minutes.
Verb (leaving):
- Sorry, I have to dash off—my train leaves in ten minutes!
- She dashed off to answer the phone.
Advanced Usage
- The phrase often implies the result is somewhat rough or unpolished due to the speed, but it is complete and functional. For example, a "dashed-off note" is understood to be brief and informal.
- It can be used reflexively in the "leaving" sense:
Variants and Related Words
- Dash (verb): To move or run with great speed. (e.g., )
- Offhand (adjective/adverb): Done or said without preparation or thought. While related in spontaneity, "offhand" refers more to manner than to the act of rapid creation.
Synonyms
- For writing: Jot down, scribble, knock out, whip up, scratch off.
- For leaving: Rush off, hurry away, bolt, run off.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Dash away: Similar to "dash off" in the sense of leaving quickly.
- She dashed away before I could thank her.
- Dash out: Can mean to leave quickly or, less commonly, to produce something hastily.
- He dashed out the door.
Related Idioms
- In a dash: In a great hurry.
- He's always in a dash in the morning.
- Make a dash for it: To run suddenly and quickly towards something.
- When the rain started, we made a dash for the car.
Verb
- write down hastily
- She dashed off a letter to her lawyer
- write quickly
- She dashed off a note to her husband saying she would not be home for supper
- He scratched off a thank-you note to the hostess