What does 'take off' mean? It seems to have many meanings.

Take off has five main meanings:

1. Depart (planes, rockets): "The flight takes off at 8am."

2. Remove clothing: "Take your shoes off at the door." / "Take off your coat."

3. Leave quickly: "She took off before I could say goodbye." (informal)

4. Become suddenly successful: "The business really took off in 2022."

5. Take time away from work: "I'm taking three days off next week."

How to tell which is meant: Context is almost always enough. "The business took off" can only mean one thing. "Take your coat off" is clearly about clothing.

The success meaning is the trickiest: When something "takes off", it moves from slow/static to rapid growth — like a plane accelerating down a runway. This is very common in business English.

Register: Casual to professional depending on use. All five meanings are widely understood.

Tags: phrasal verbs, multiple meanings, vocabulary, everyday English