get off — derive pleasure
To experience strong enjoyment, excitement, or satisfaction from something, often used informally and sometimes with a mildly sexual or taboo connotation.
Say it like a native
Textbook He appears to derive considerable satisfaction from criticising others.
Native He gets off on putting people down.
'Get off on' is the slangy phrase for getting a kick out of something (often disapproving); the formal version is detached.
Pattern: get off on [something]
In use
- Some people really get off on taking risks, even when there's a lot at stake.emotion
- While some individuals get off on the thrill of extreme sports, others prefer more conventional hobbies for relaxation.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ She gets off with bossing people around.
✓ She gets off on bossing people around.
For getting a thrill from something, it's 'get off ON' — 'get off with' is a different (BrE) sense.
Common collocations
get off on + thing— on power, on it, on the attention, on winning
Don't confuse it
Unlike the B-level senses (leaving transport, finishing work, or avoiding punishment), this sense is figurative and focuses on deriving pleasure or excitement, not physical movement or legal outcomes.
Related
- get off (leave a bus, train, plane, etc.) — 'get off' also has the more basic meaning 'leave a bus, train, plane, etc.'; this is the advanced sense.