to see off

[Offroad]

Dear teachers...

A dictionary defines this phrasal verb as:

See off:
To take leave of (someone):

• saw the guests off at the door;
• went to the airport to see us off.

In this case, see off means 'to take/drive somebody somewhere'.


Another Dictionary defines it as:

See off:

to defeat someone or something, or to deal with them effectively so that they can no longer cause harm:

• England saw off Luxembourg 5-0.
• He may not have seen off the challengers for the leadership of the party, but he has at least silenced them for a while.

In this case 'see off' means 'to defeat, beat, win, overcome (challenges)':

England beat/won Ivory Cost 1-0.
We have overcome all try-outs they submitted us to.

Are my interpretations (in red) on the right track?

Many thanks.

 

[Barb_D]

Hi,
You're not quite righ on the first one. You can see your son off to school without driving him there - you just are there to say goodbye as he leaves.

I've never seen the second one. It must be a used elsewhere.

 

[Offroad]

Very good.

UE phrasal verbs defines 'see off' as:

Meaning: Chase somebody or something away
Example: A cat came into the back garden but the dog soon SAW it OFF.

and

Meaning: Go to the airport, station, etc., to say goodbye to someone
Example: I went to the station to SEE them OFF.

I missed the latter.

 

[emsr2d2]

I could go to the airport to see someone off, but I could also see them off from the front door of my house, as they get into the taxi that's going to take them to the airport.

I think the sporting context is very similar to the one where the example of the dog seeing off the cat.

Serena Williams saw off her opponent in straight sets.
I found a burglar in my house but I soon saw him off by waving a large knife at him!

 

[Offroad]

Thank you for your efforts.;-)