1 C1 idiomatic slang
To leave suddenly or quickly; to go away. (Chiefly Australian/British dialectal.)
"The kids saw the security guard coming and knicked off before he could catch them."
knick off
C1 slang separable transitive/intransitive
A rare or dialectal variant meaning to leave quickly, to stop doing something, or to steal.
In plain English
To go away, to stop, or to take something that isn't yours.
What does "knick off" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 C1 idiomatic slang
To steal something. (Variant of 'nick off.')
"Someone had knicked off the bike that was left unlocked outside the shop."
separable
Usage tip
Non-standard. Likely a variant spelling of 'nick off' (Australian/British slang) or 'knock off.' May also reflect dialectal pronunciation. Treat as informal/non-standard and use 'nick off' or 'knock off' instead for clarity.
Words that pair with "knick off"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
quickly something work early
How to conjugate "knick off"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
knick off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
knicks off
he/she/it
Past simple
knicked off
yesterday
Past participle
knicked off
have + pp
-ing form
knicking off
continuous
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