cast-off
adjective
(prenominal) thrown away; abandoned
cast-off
Britishadjective
noun
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a person or thing that has been discarded or abandoned
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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
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to remove (mooring lines) that hold (a vessel) to a dock
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to knot (a row of stitches, esp the final row) in finishing off knitted or woven material
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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
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(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
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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).
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Let go, set loose, as in He cast off the line and the boat drifted from the dock . [Second half of 1600s]
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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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Media analysts say the key is whether such a separation is truly a spinoff of a company that is able to stand on its own, or more of a cast-off of unwanted assets.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 5, 2026
Even Musk’s cast-off remarks regarding countries he’s not so entwined with are likely to promote harm.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2024
Shimmering in purple like a cherry blossom, the cast-off material once comprised the star’s outer layer.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 14, 2023
Through buying up and turning around cast-off parts of other businesses, Sir Jim has built up a huge fortune - although estimates of his wealth vary.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2022
‘He messed up the scent back there, pinching that cast-off mail-shirt that he found, and paddling all round the place before I could get there.’
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
In addition, having cast off the rule of Spain’s Catholic monarchy, the newly formed Dutch Republic espoused a greater, though still incomplete, sense of religious tolerance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
In the past, many media spinoffs were viewed largely as efforts to cast off declining or unwanted assets.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Japan has cast off lost decades of deflation to join the rest of the developed world in modest inflation, currently running near 3%.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
It was definitely revolutionary in the sense that for the first time in my lifetime, they’d cast off the cliches of the previous generation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025
With towropes joining the three boats together, they cast off and rowed wearily from one floe to another throughout the night, trying to find some shelter.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
