'To haul off' definitions:

Definition of 'To haul off'

From: GCIDE
  • Haul \Haul\, v. i.
  • 1. (Naut.) To change the direction of a ship by hauling the wind. See under Haul, v. t. [1913 Webster]
  • I . . . hauled up for it, and found it to be an island. --Cook. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. To pull apart, as oxen sometimes do when yoked. [1913 Webster]
  • To haul around (Naut.), to shift to any point of the compass; -- said of the wind.
  • To haul off (Naut.), to sail closer to the wind, in order to get farther away from anything; hence, to withdraw; to draw back. [1913 Webster]