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clock off

B1 neutral inseparable intransitive
In simple words

To press a button or use a card to show what time you stopped working.

Literal meaning: To record ('clock') going 'off' (away from) the timekeeping system.

Meanings

1 B1 neutral

To officially record the end of your working shift using a timekeeping device.

"She clocked off at five o'clock and headed straight to the gym."

Grammar: inseparable
2 B2 idiomatic informal

To stop paying attention or mentally disengage from a task or situation (informal).

"By the third hour of the meeting, most people had clocked off mentally."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

Chiefly British English. The American equivalent is 'clock out.' Often used informally to simply mean 'stop working' even without a formal timekeeping system.

Commonly used with

shift work early time machine factory

Forms

Base
clock off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
clocks off
he/she/it
Past simple
clocked off
yesterday
Past participle
clocked off
have + pp
-ing form
clocking off
continuous

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