Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

put off

British  

verb

  1. (tr, adverb) to postpone or delay

    they have put off the dance until tomorrow

  2. (tr, adverb) to evade (a person) by postponement or delay

    they tried to put him off, but he came anyway

  3. (tr, adverb) to confuse; disconcert

    he was put off by her appearance

  4. (tr, preposition) to cause to lose interest in or enjoyment of

    the accident put him off driving

  5. (intr, adverb) nautical to be launched off from shore or from a ship

    we put off in the lifeboat towards the ship

  6. archaic (tr, adverb) to remove (clothes)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a pretext or delay

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
put off Idioms  

  1. 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.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The former shadow secretary of state for health and social care said he had put off a routine health check from his GP.

From BBC

Elevated mortgage rates and high home prices have forced many house hunters to put off buying plans in recent years.

From MarketWatch

Shipping industry specialists expect importers this year to drag their heels and put off signing agreements until May.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the right situation, a nap and a snack could sometimes be put off for a little exploring.

From Literature

As the disaster unfolded, many families frantically tried to find their pets, or put off evacuating because they didn’t want to leave them behind.

From Los Angeles Times

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.