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nosh off

C1 informal separable transitive

To eat something quickly or casually, especially as a snack; British informal.

In plain English

To eat a snack or a quick bite of food.

What does "nosh off" mean?

2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.

1 C1 informal

(British informal) To eat something quickly and casually, as a snack.

"She nosed off the last of the biscuits while waiting for the kettle to boil."

separable
2 C1 idiomatic slang

(British vulgar slang) To perform oral sex. Learners should avoid this usage unless very familiar with context.

separable
Usage tip

British slang. 'Nosh' alone already means food or to eat informally. 'Nosh off' is very colloquial and relatively rare. Note: in some British slang contexts 'nosh off' has a vulgar sexual meaning — learners should be aware of this and use with care.

Words that pair with "nosh off"

Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.

sandwich snack biscuit leftovers something bit

How to conjugate "nosh off"

The five tense forms you'll use most often.

Base
nosh off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
noshes off
he/she/it
Past simple
noshed off
yesterday
Past participle
noshed off
have + pp
-ing form
noshing off
continuous

Hear "nosh off" in the wild

Listen to native speakers using "nosh off" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.

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