to take off

Idiom: to take off

Context #1:

Joe: What time is it?

Sam: It's 3 o'clock.

Joe: Oh man! I have to take off. I have a doctor's appointment at 3:15.

Sam: Alright. See you later!

Context #2:

Debbie: You were at the party last night, right?

Julie: Yeah, I went with my boyfriend.

Debbie: What time did you guys leave?

Julie: We took off about midnight.

Meaning: to take off is a very common American idiom. Native speakers will use this idiom to mean "leave."

This idiom was taken from LSI's textbook Speaking Savvy. This book is used at LSI schools to teach Level 5 Speaking. For more information please visit: http://www.languagesystems.com/