jump-off
Americannoun
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a place for jumping off.
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a point of departure, as of a race or a military attack.
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the start of such a departure.
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a supplementary contest among horses tied for first place in a jumping contest.
noun
verb
Etymology
Origin of jump-off
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; noun use of verb phrase
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.
"Then sometimes with acting you just have to jump off the cliff and hope you land well – you don't want everything to feel measured and calculated."
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
It’s a fun ride, but when do you jump off?
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025
Nobody wants to be the first to jump off the bandwagon, no matter how close it gets to the cliff, for fear of missing out.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 18, 2025
There’s opportunities to jump off, but no one has the nerve to try.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 29, 2025
Once you jump off a cliff, there’s no undoing it, there’s no stopping midair.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
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.
