make off

present singular third person makes off · participle present making off · participle past made off · past made off

1. intransitiveTo exit or depart; to run away.

   As soon as he saw me, he turned around and made off down the road.

   2 more examples

   [H]e was so frightened, being new to the sight, that he made off again, and never stopped until he had run a mile or more.

   1859, Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

   But the Metropolitan police said while they attempted to arrest a man in Hornsey, north London, “he made off from them on foot”.

   2019 September 14, “Extinction Rebellion co-founder arrested at Heathrow protest”, in The Guardian

   Synonyms: flee, run away

2. To tie off, fix down or terminate the end of a rope, cable or thread.

   Make off the cable ends in metal glands.

   2007, FCS Electrical Systems and Construction L2, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   The object of good end-box technique is to make off the cable in a manner which resists ingress of air, moisture and cable box compound into the cable with as little interference with the lay and structure of the cable as possible.

   1958, Transactions of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers, volume 49

   If the fairlead (a cleat, chock, or genoa car to make off the line on) is located amidships...

   2014, Ralph Naranjo, The Art of Seamanship, →ISBN