1 A2 neutral
To tell someone to leave or to refuse to deal with them.
"The bouncer sent away everyone who didn't have their ID."
separable
send away
A2 neutral separable transitive
To tell someone to leave or to dispatch someone or something to a distant place.
In plain English
To tell someone to go away, or to send someone or something far from where you are.
What does "send away" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 A2 neutral
To send a person to a distant place, often for a long period and sometimes against their wishes.
"During the war, many city children were sent away to the countryside for safety."
“
Thousands of children were sent away from their families under the evacuation scheme.
— BBC History Magazine, 2020
separable
Usage tip
Can carry an emotional weight — e.g., sending a child away to boarding school. Also used simply to mean refusing or dismissing someone (e.g., 'sent away from the door').
Words that pair with "send away"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
children guests refugees applicants letters samples
How to conjugate "send away"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
send away
I/you/we/they
3rd person
sends away
he/she/it
Past simple
sent away
yesterday
Past participle
sent away
have + pp
-ing form
sending away
continuous
Hear "send away" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "send away" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.