Idioms

separate off

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separate off (from someone or something)

1. To split off, disconnect, or become isolated (from other people or things). My friends and I separated off from the tour group to look at a different exhibit on our own. The power unit keeps separating off. We'll need a new way to keep it attached to the machine.
2. To remove and isolate someone, something, or a group from one or more other people or things. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used either before or after "off." I had to separate the troublesome student off from the rest of the class. Please go through that huge stack of books and separate off the ones that you want to keep.
See also: off, separate, someone
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

separate off (from something)

to move or head away from something. The road to the cabin separates off from the main road and goes along for a mile or two. It separates off about a mile from here.
See also: off, separate
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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(For a traditionalappearance, separate off a little dough, make little marble-sized spheres and press these into dents in the individual brioches).
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