let sb off
— phrasal verb with let uk/let/us/let/verb present participle letting, past tense and past participle let
B2 to not punish someone who has committed a crime or done something wrong, or to not punish them severely:
Instead of a prison sentence they were let off with a fine.
You won't be let off so lightly (= you will be punished more severely) the next time.
More examples
- The police let him off with a warning.
- I'll let you off if you apologize.
- My Mum said I had to do all the ironing as a punishment, but I'm hoping she'll let me off.
- Considering the severity of the crime, they were let off lightly.
- I let him off because he seemed so sorry.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Not punishing & reducing punishment
- absolve
- amnesty
- clemency
- commutation
- commute
- diplomatic immunity
- discharge
- free pardon
- get (sb) off (sth)
- hook
- impunity
- let
- off the hook idiom
- pardon
- parole
- remission
- remit
- reprieve
- spare
- unpunished
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