Meaning trap
take off
leave suddenly
To leave a place quickly and unexpectedly, often without warning or explanation.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
To leave a place quickly and unexpectedly, often without warning or explanation.
'take off' also has the more basic meaning 'plane leaves the ground'; this is the advanced sense.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- As soon as the police arrived, the crowd took off in all directions.informal
- During the protest, several participants took off when they saw the authorities approaching, which made it difficult to identify everyone involved.IELTS speaking
Fix the pattern
Pattern: take off (from somewhere)
WrongHe took off himself early.
RightHe took off early.
It's intransitive here — don't add 'himself'.
Patterntake off (from somewhere)
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'Take off' is the casual spoken verb for leaving suddenly; 'departed abruptly' is formal.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
take off + departureearlywithout a wordright aftersuddenly
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B1 sense of 'take off' meaning a plane leaving the ground, or the B2 sense of 'become successful', this sense is about a person or group leaving a place suddenly and unexpectedly. It is figurative and informal.
Related
- take off (plane leaves the ground) — 'take off' also has the more basic meaning 'plane leaves the ground'; this is the advanced sense.