put off

British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to postpone or delay

   they have put off the dance until tomorrow

2. (tr, adverb) to evade (a person) by postponement or delay

   they tried to put him off, but he came anyway

3. (tr, adverb) to confuse; disconcert

   he was put off by her appearance

4. (tr, preposition) to cause to lose interest in or enjoyment of

   the accident put him off driving

5. (intr, adverb) nautical to be launched off from shore or from a ship

   we put off in the lifeboat towards the ship

6. archaic  (tr, adverb) to remove (clothes)

---

noun

1. a pretext or delay

put off Idioms  

1. Delay or postpone, as in He always puts off paying his bills. This idiom, dating from the late 1300s, gave rise to the proverb Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today, first recorded in the late 1300s (in Chaucer's Tale of Melibee) and repeated ever since. Also see put one off.

---

Example Sentences

This means more shoppers are looking for ways to save on purchases — and presents — they cannot put off.

From Los Angeles Times

He and others predicted many people will put off routine medical care, worsening their health.

From Los Angeles Times

Atlanta joins a growing number of cities testing publicly funded options for affordable fresh food, in areas where businesses are put off by the risks.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the longer you put off a decision on senior housing, the more likely that decision will end up being made by your adult children and not you.

From MarketWatch

But it was put off at least temporarily as lawmakers and the White House hold talks on raising the government's $31.4 trillion debt.

From Reuters

Related Words

• adjourn
• postpone
• reschedule
• shelve
• suspend