pair off
To separate into groups of twoTo separate into groups of two.
» Mary tried to pair them off at the Christmas party.
Hybrid · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
3 senses(intransitive)To separate into groups of two.
(transitive)To join two people into a relationship.
(dated, intransitive)To agree with one of the opposite party or opinion to abstain from voting on specified questions or issues.
- form a pair or pairs
Examples
4 sentencesMary tried to pair them off at the Christmas party.
Everyone paired off and began dancing.
ruВсе разбились по парам и начали танцевать. — Hellerick
deAlle ordneten sich paarweise an und begannen zu tanzen. — Espi
The boys and girls paired off for the dance.
ruПарни и девушки разделились на пары для танца. — sharptoothed
deDie Jungen und Mädchen bildeten zum Tanz Paare. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Mary has paired Tom off with Alice.
deMaria hat Tom mit Elke verkuppelt. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Forms
pairs off, pairing off, paired off, paired off| Base form | pair off · to pair off |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | pairs off |
| Present participle | pairing off |
| Past simple | paired off |
| Past participle | paired off |
irregular
Phrasal verbs
2 phrasal verbsSynonyms
3 synonymsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Phrasal verbs: introduction — Because it is a phrasal verb
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.