give off

give off

To emit, discharge, or radiate something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "give" and "off." The heater is giving off a strange smell these days. She really gives off an angry vibe, so I thought she disliked me for the longest time!
See also: give, off
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

give something off

to release something, such as smoke, a noise, an odor, fragrance, etc. The little animal gave a foul smell off. The flower gave off its heavy perfume at dusk.
See also: give, off
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

give off

Send out, emit, as in Certain chemical changes give off energy, or This mixture gives off a very strange odor. [Early 1800s]
See also: give, off
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

give off

v.
To emit, release, or radiate something: This chemical reaction gives off a lot of energy. The refrigerator gave off a strange odor.
See also: give, off
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • base off (of) (something else)
  • check off
  • bite off
  • blow off
  • blow someone/something off
  • blow off the map
  • brass off
  • brass someone off
  • brassed off
  • call off
References in periodicals archive
The wires that feed an appliance give off electromagnetic fields as well.
Green building Q and A: John Senechal answers commonly asked questions about building and renovating with health and environment in mind
The Notre Dame researcher's lab is studying what smells plants that mosquitoes are attracted to give off. Again, a deeper understanding of the role of the chemicals produced by plants and how mosquitoes select plants to obtain their energy sources can lead to better control and elimination strategies.
Mosquitoes choose victims based on how they smell
Patients with a variety of lung problems give off different chemicals in their breath and there is a particular cocktail given off by those with tumours.
YOUR PROBLEMS: HEALTH NEWS
The Sunnex PM lights give off no peripheral glow, and provide a straight beam of light that focuses only or the task at hand.
Room and bedside lighting. (Product Watch)
More and more scientists believe that people, like insects and other animals, give off pheromones.
Brain scans reveal human pheromones. (Biology)
REPLY: Xenon headlights give off a blue effect from certain angles and distances but return to white on level roads.
MOTORING: YOUR VIEWS; DRIVE TIME
Battery- operated alarms and clocks give off virtually no electric waves.
Danger lurking in our every day household appliances
* A MATURE BIRCH, WITH 200,000 LEAVES MAY GIVE OFF AS MUCH AS 900 GALLONS OF WATER IN A SUMMER'S DAY
Drops of green wisdom
Pulsars (see 1967), which had been shown to be rotating neutron stars (see 1968), ought, perhaps, to give off photons of all energies.
Optical pulsars
They also selected building materials that do not give off significant amounts of toxic chemicals and solvents.
Indoor air: what you can't see can hurt you?
"Our lasers give off a signal that's like throwing sand in the eyes of the missile," said Mohammed Islam.
Laser-based missile defense for helicopters on the anvil
An injured plant may give off the supposed alarm compounds involuntarily, he suggests.
Wild tobacco heeds `ouch' from sagebrush
While metabolizing, or turning the nutrients into energy, the bacteria give off gaseous waste that make you go "toot."
Do fish pass gas?
French lingerie firm Lou, which invented it, said: "It gives women the freedom to choose what odour their bras give off.
The bra that's heaven scent