fire off
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fire off
1. To hastily write and send a message. A noun or pronoun can be used between "fire" and "off." He's always firing off angry emails and getting himself into trouble.
2. To make statements or ask questions in rapid succession. A noun or pronoun can be used between "fire" and "off." He fired off so many questions that I couldn't keep track of them all.
3. To shoot a weapon. A noun or pronoun can be used between "fire" and "off." Someone is out in the woods firing off a gun of some kind.
fire something off (to someone)
Fig. to send something to someone immediately, by a very rapid means. Fire a letter off to Fred, ordering him to return home at once. I fired off a letter to Fred as you asked. I finished the e-mail and fired it off.
fire off
Say or write and send away rapidly, as in He fired off three more questions, or She fired off a letter of complaint to the president. This expression originally (from about 1700) was, and still is, used in the sense of "discharge a weapon or ammunition," as in The police were instructed to fire off canisters of tear gas. The figurative use dates from the late 1800s.
fire off
v.
1. To say or ask something rapidly, especially a question or command: The prosecutor fired questions off to the witness. My parents fired off reasons why my plan wouldn't work.
2. To write and send a communication quickly: I fired off a positive reply to the job offer. My friend fired an angry letter off to the editor.
3. To shoot something from a weapon, especially in quick succession: The police officer fired off warning shots when the suspect approached them. At the parade, the color guard fired three shots off.