castoff

[ kast-awf, -of, kahst- ]

/ ˈkæstˌɔf, -ˌɒf, ˈkɑst- /

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See synonyms for: castoff / castoffs on Thesaurus.com

adjective

thrown away; rejected; discarded: castoff clothing.

noun

a person or thing that has been cast off.

Printing. the estimate by a compositor of how many pages copy will occupy when set in type.

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Origin of castoff

First recorded in 1735–45; adjective, noun use of verb phrase cast off

Words nearby castoff

Castle's intrinsic factor, Castle walk, cast loose, Castner, Castner process, castoff, cast on, cast one's lot with, castor, Castor and Pollux, castor bean

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use castoff in a sentence

He found a castoff military uniform, he said, to use as a disguise when he walked the streets.
‘Zorba’ composer Mikis Theodorakis dies at 96|Brian Murphy|September 2, 2021|Washington Post
Controversially, some hikers even live out of these boxes, eating and using others’ castoffs in an effort to save cash.
The Hidden Mutual Aid Network of Hiker Boxes|awise|July 19, 2021|Outside Online
I spent several days with his team at Nevada two years ago and came away amazed at the culture of a group of players outsiders would have considered castoffs.
NCAA’s transfer changes are good for athletes and challenging for coaches. Seems fair.|Jerry Brewer|April 16, 2021|Washington Post
That creates a tough task for Kansas City’s battered offensive line, which is littered with backups and castoffs.
Take the Buccaneers and the points against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs|Neil Greenberg|February 4, 2021|Washington Post

People nurtured their starters as if they were particularly needy children, traded recipes for their castoff dough, and photographed the pillowy interiors and artfully slashed crusts like proud parents.
These 10 food trends were the distractions we needed in 2020|Emily Heil|December 24, 2020|Washington Post
The underdog franchise, then only five years old, was led by a bowlegged castoff named Johnny Unitas at quarterback.
New York City Is the Storied Football Capital of the USA|Ben Jacobs|January 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A player comes on under the shadow, made up in the castoff mail of a court buck, a wellset man with a bass voice.
Ulysses|James Joyce
The child pointed to what appeared to be some ragged, castoff clothes left in the hole by the late occupant.
Selected Stories|Bret Harte
Behold him, beneath the mass of stale and putrid slime, a castoff, friendless and penniless vagabond.
Treading the Narrow Way|R. E. Barrett
Doubtless she would hail his wish—half a reform in itself—to castoff the outward signs of an accepted degradation.
What Will He Do With It, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton
So he picked up some castoff feathers of the Peacocks and stuck them among his own black plumes.
The sop for Children|sop

British Dictionary definitions for castoff

cast-off

adjective

(prenominal) thrown away; abandonedcast-off shoes

noun castoff

a person or thing that has been discarded or abandoned

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 cast off (adverb)

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

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

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

(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

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with castoff

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).

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.