Meanings
present singular third person sees off · participle present seeing off · past saw off · participle past seen off
- To accompany someone to a point of departure; to ensure someone departs safely.
Many friends came to see me off.
2 more examples
We saw off a close friend at the airport.
During the interval my friend, who was seeing me off, observing a wheel-tapper at his work, and having the incredulity which decides that there can be no practical outcome of this mysterious operation, asked me what did happen if the wheel-tapper discovered anything amiss.
1939 July, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 20 - UKTo defeat; to get rid of.
A salesman came to my door, but the dogs soon saw him off.
3 more examples
Jon Walters and Rory Delap scored late goals as Stoke continued their unbeaten home start by seeing off Fulham with a dominant second-half display.
2011 October 15, Owen Phillips, “Stoke 2 - 0 Fulham”, in BBC SportOnly four units (455704/726/736/740) are yet scrapped, but the new Class 701s will soon see them all off.
2023 February 22, Howard Johnston, “Southern '313s': is the end now in sight?”, in RAIL, number 977, page 40You Keep Fucking Me is one of the highlights of a new exhibition of her paintings, all of them created since her diagnosis with a cancer that should, by rights, have seen her off.
2024 May 29, Simon Hattenstone, “The radical, ravishing rebirth of Tracey Emin: ‘I didn’t want to die as some mediocre YBA’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN
Translations
Arabic وَدَّعَ, رَافَقَ
- وَدَّعَ (waddaʕa)to accompany someone to a point of departure
- رَافَقَ (rāfaqa)to accompany someone to a point of departure
Chinese Mandarin 歡送 /欢送, 送行
- 歡送 /欢送 (huānsòng)to accompany someone to a point of departure
- 送行 (sòngxíng)to accompany someone to a point of departure
- 送 (sòng)to accompany someone to a point of departure
Dutch uitwuiven, uitlaten
- uitwuivento accompany someone to a point of departure
- uitlatento accompany someone to a point of departure
Finnish saattaa ulos
- saattaa ulosto accompany someone to a point of departure
French accompagner
- accompagnerto accompany someone to a point of departure
German begleiten
- begleitento accompany someone to a point of departure
Hungarian kikísér
- kikísérto accompany someone to a point of departure
Italian accompagnare
- accompagnareto accompany someone to a point of departure
Japanese 見送る, 歓送する
- 見送る (miokuru)to accompany someone to a point of departure
- 歓送する (kansō suru)to accompany someone to a point of departure
Korean 환송하다, 배웅하다
- 환송하다 (hwansonghada)to accompany someone to a point of departure
- 배웅하다 (bae'unghada)to accompany someone to a point of departure
Polish odprowadzać, odprowadzić
- odprowadzaćto accompany someone to a point of departure
- odprowadzićto accompany someone to a point of departure
Russian провожа́ть, проводи́ть
- провожа́ть (provožátʹ)to accompany someone to a point of departure
- проводи́ть (provodítʹ)to accompany someone to a point of departure
Spanish despedirse
- despedirseto accompany someone to a point of departure
Swedish vinka av
- vinka avto accompany someone to a point of departure
Ukrainian проводжа́ти, прово́дити
- проводжа́ти (provodžáty)to accompany someone to a point of departure
- прово́дити (provódyty)to accompany someone to a point of departure
- провести́ (provestý)to accompany someone to a point of departure
Cite this entry
see off. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/see%20off
“see off.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/see%20off. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “see off,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/see%20off.
Source: see off on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.