PUT OFF Definition & Meaning

View synonyms for

put off

verb

tr, adverb to postpone or delay
they have put off the dance until tomorrow
tr, adverb to evade (a person) by postponement or delay
they tried to put him off, but he came anyway
tr, adverb to confuse; disconcert
he was put off by her appearance
tr, preposition to cause to lose interest in or enjoyment of
the accident put him off driving
intr, adverb nautical to be launched off from shore or from a ship
we put off in the lifeboat towards the ship
archaic.
tr, adverb to remove (clothes)

noun

a pretext or delay

Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Delay or postpone, as in He always puts off paying his bills . This idiom, dating from the late 1300s, gave rise to the proverb Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today , first recorded in the late 1300s (in Chaucer's Tale of Melibee ) and repeated ever since. Also see put one off .

Discover More

Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

When we got on the cover of Spin and they dubbed us “broken homeboys” — I was a little put off by that.

From

I understand I can treat the first one as if it were my own, and put off taking withdrawals.

From

Some firms have said they have put off investment decisions as a result, and many have warned of price rises or job cuts.

From

He'd also destabilise the wider Baltics, probably socially, politically, and economically, as a Russian incursion – however limited – would likely put off foreign investors viewing this as a stable region.

From

Lack of radio exposure is one factor - but listeners can also be put off by clunky English lyrics or the sudden-but-deliberate stylistic shifts that characterise K-Pop.

From

Related �y��vlogs

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Browse