let off — not punish
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to allow someone to avoid punishment or a difficult task, even though they might deserve it
Say it like a native
Textbook The judge declined to impose any penalty on the first-time offender.
Native The judge let him off with a warning.
'Let off' naturally means spare from punishment. The formal version is legalese.
Pattern: let sb off (with sth)
In use
- The teacher let me off with just a warning because it was my first time being late.daily life
- In my opinion, if someone makes a small mistake at work, it's better to let them off with a warning rather than give a strict punishment.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ The teacher let off him this time.
✓ The teacher let him off this time.
With a pronoun, the object goes in the middle — 'let him off'.
Common collocations
let off + with— with a warning, lightly, this time, the hook
Don't confuse it
Do not confuse with 'let out', which means to allow to leave.
Related
- let off (release or fire) — Another meaning of 'let off' is 'release or fire'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.