How to Use pair off in a Sentence

pair off

verb
  • Wrestlers pair off, practicing moves at light speed.
    — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Those friends were pairing off, getting engaged.
    — John Glynn, PEOPLE, 12 Dec. 2025
  • The team paired off roaches and placed them in artificial nest boxes.
    — Samantha Agate, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2026
  • But in this season, competitors will pair off in teams of two, a touch that is new to the holiday adaptation.
    — Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Stay in the neutrals family by topping this grey wool pair off with a simple white button-down and lightweight black jacket.
    — Christina Holevas, Vogue, 2 Jan. 2026
  • But in this six-episode season, the 32 competitors are paired off in teams of two, a touch that is new to the holiday adaptation.
    — Sabrina Weiss, PEOPLE, 13 Nov. 2025
  • Before long, Colin has buzzed his hair and fallen in with Ray’s biker gang, many of whose members are paired off in sub-dom dyads of their own.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Eventually, Annie and Link pair off and things get hot and heavy in the Jungle Room.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Limon’s brother told the Times that by Sunday, investigators had traced the pair off campus.
    — Dan Sullivan, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Apr. 2026
  • Twenty-one years later, Carrie ends her story very intentionally not paired off.
    — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 15 Aug. 2025
  • As the rest of the ladies get foot massages for Julia, who apparently is coming forward with her kinks, Alexia and Stephanie pair off and go chat in the mud room.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2025
  • More than 100 student volunteers will get first hand knowledge of the industry Sunday, when they are paired off to assist the wineries and restaurants.
    — Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Before then, Jackie Wiles will look to get Team USA's other main medal-contending pairing off to a strong start.
    — Sean Nevin, NBC news, 10 Feb. 2026
  • March Madness’s main tournament starts by pairing off 64 of the highest-level college basketball teams into 32 games.
    — Emma R. Hasson, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Our diminutive hero, at a little more than a year and a half, is old enough for a mate, but there are only about 250 piping plovers summering around the Great Lakes, and many are already paired off.
    — Chicago Tribune, 17 Apr. 2026
  • Amid the chaos, an announcement was made encouraging all passengers to remain calm as the plane prepared to land in Kosovo, where police would come onto the plane and escort the pair off, per The Sun.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 2 May 2026
  • Bobby starting a mother-son lunch special at the restaurant that honors Peggy’s support of his culinary experimentation and gives them a reason to get together weekly is really thoughtful and could set up more episodes where they’re paired off down the line.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Build your look off of Zara's hooded khaki jacket and incorporate elements including (but not limited to) pleated skirts or trouser shorts, a necktie, knee high-socks, your choice of footwear and bayonetta glasses like this affordable pair off Amazon.
    — Michelle Lee, PEOPLE, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Participants will be paired off into teams, which will listen to music from the 1960s and 1970s through the early 2000s and work together to identify the song and mark it off on their Slingo card.
    — Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr. 2026
  • In the end, almost all of Lost’s central characters are reunited in the church and paired off with their soulmates, including Jack and Kate, Sawyer and Juliet, and Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) and Claire.
    — Janey Tracey, Entertainment Weekly, 23 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pair off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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