draw off

English

draw off (third-person singular simple present draws off, present participle drawing off, simple past drew off, past participle drawn off)

(transitive, idiomatic) To remove by using a siphon.
The butler drew off wine from a barrel.
(transitive, dated, slang) To distract (someone).
We need a diversion to draw them off.
(intransitive) To retire or retreat.
- 1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC:
  The dog obeyed the significant beck of his finger, and they drew off, stealthily, together.
- 1966, Robert William Murphy, The Phantom Setter, and Other Stories, page 102:
  One of the lynxes moved; it drew off a little farther, as though deciding to abandon the fight.