take off

verb11

1. •
   To remove.

   • He took off his shoes.
   • The test grader takes off a point for every misspelled word.
2. •
   To leave the ground and ascend into the air or into flight.

   • The plane has been cleared to take off from runway 3.
   • That high-jumper takes off from her left foot.
3. •
   To become successful, to flourish.

   • The business has really taken off this year and has made quite a profit.
4. •
   To depart.

   • I'm going to take off now.
   • Take off, loser!
5. •
   To absent oneself from (work or other responsibility), especially with permission.

   • If you take off for Thanksgiving you must work Christmas and vice versa.
   • He decided to let his mother take a night off from cooking, so he took her and his siblings out to dinner.
6. •
   To imitate (somebody), often in a satirical manner.

   • Pym would take him off perfectly, thought Brotherhood. Pym would catch that accent to a tee. — 1986
7. •
   To stand up on a surfboard and begin to surf a breaking wave.

   • You take off, make the steep drop, hear the white water rumbling behind you and feel the spray on your back. — 1966
8. •
   To quantify.

   • I'll take off the concrete and steel for this construction project.
9. •
   (slang, old-fashioned) To steal (something) or rob (someone).
10. •
    (slang, old-fashioned) To take drugs; to inject drugs.
11. •
    (no longer used) To swallow.