off-limits

[ awf-lim-its, of- ]
See synonyms for off-limits on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. forbidden to be patronized, frequented, used, etc., by certain persons: The tavern is off-limits to soldiers.

Origin of off-limits

1
An Americanism dating back to 1950–55

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use off-limits in a sentence

  • With support from the department's lawyers, they questioned the legality of using off-limits sanctions in civil rights cases.

  • Commanders were frequently quizzed on the probable effects of the imposition of off-limits sanctions or base closings.

  • The site remained off-limits to military and civilian personnel of the proving ground and closed to the public.

    Trinity [Atomic test] Site | White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs Office
  • This section of the building was off-limits to the other patients in the Institute, but Stanton, the star border, had free rein.

    Anything You Can Do | Gordon Randall Garrett
  • Those are complicated machines, those things, and they're off-limits to the likes of you and me.

    Little Brother | Cory Doctorow

British Dictionary definitions for off limits

off limits

adjective(off-limits when prenominal)
  1. not to be entered; out of bounds

adverb
  1. in or into an area forbidden by regulations

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