cast-off

adjective

1. (prenominal) thrown away; abandoned

   cast-off shoes

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

Idioms and Phrases

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).

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

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.

Example Sentences

The New York Giants cast-off threw for 272 yards and a touchdown and ran in two himself in a 33-8 win over the Miami Dolphins.

From BBC

Her fanciful creations, some with comforting messages like “Be You,” are welded together from all kinds of cast-off materials, painted in bright colors and securely attached to the utility poles with four-inch bolts and chains.

From Los Angeles Times

Rags and cast-off clothing are embedded in some of Aparicio’s hangings.

From Los Angeles Times

Her throne was an old cast-off powder puff.

From Literature

An untitled wall relief by Chiffon Thomas is a body-cast of his head and shoulders, held aloft by implied “wings” made from cast-off architectural posts.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• discarded