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• cast-off
  cast-off

  adjective

  (prenominal) thrown away; abandoned
• cast off
  cast off

  Discard, reject, as in He cast off his clothes and jumped in the pool . This term was already used figuratively in Miles Coverdale's translation of the Bible (1535): “Thy mother ... that hath cast off her housebonds and her children” (Ezekiel 16:45).

cast-off

British  

adjective

1. (prenominal) thrown away; abandoned

   cast-off shoes

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noun

1. a person or thing that has been discarded or abandoned

2. printing an estimate of the amount of space that a piece of copy will occupy when printed in a particular size and style of type

verb

1. to remove (mooring lines) that hold (a vessel) to a dock

2. to knot (a row of stitches, esp the final row) in finishing off knitted or woven material

3. printing to estimate the amount of space that will be taken up by (a book, piece of copy, etc) when it is printed in a particular size and style of type

4. (intr) (in Scottish country dancing) to perform a progressive movement during which each partner of a couple dances separately behind one line of the set and then reunites with the other in their original position in the set or in a new position

cast off Idioms  

1. Discard, reject, as in He cast off his clothes and jumped in the pool . This term was already used figuratively in Miles Coverdale's translation of the Bible (1535): “Thy mother ... that hath cast off her housebonds and her children” (Ezekiel 16:45).

2. Let go, set loose, as in He cast off the line and the boat drifted from the dock . [Second half of 1600s]

3. In knitting, to finish the last row of stitches, that is, take the stitches off the needle and form a selvage. For example, Your sweater is finished; I just have to cast off . [Late 1800s] Also see cast on , def. 1.

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Example Sentences

Cast off moments separated by decades jittered for attention — a stuttering reminder of everything that was, and wouldn’t be.

From Nature • Feb. 11, 2020

Cast off by the World Series champions, Miguel Montero has a new home north of the border.

From Washington Times • Jul. 3, 2017

This year, between the two familiar phrases, the voice will give a new order "Cast off."

From Time Magazine Archive

Then Skipper Osborn bellowed a time-honored order: "Cast off all lines!"

From Time Magazine Archive

"Cast off, cast off your Holland smock, And lay it on this stone,30 For it is too fine and o'er costly To rot in the salt sea foam."

From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume II (of 8) by Various

Related Words

• discarded