put off

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

Wilders had won 37 seats in November 2023, but this time the electorate were clearly put off by the realisation that he could not form another coalition.

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Chris says this has helped him have difficult conversations he may otherwise have put off.

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Homebuilders have suffered from stagnant home sales as high mortgage rates and economic uncertainty have put off buyers.

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“I’ve heard of families who have put off being able to buy a house or put off making substantial payments on their student loans,” she said.

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Clients that have put off capital improvements are now seeking loans, Spence noted.

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Related Words

• adjourn 
• hold off 
• postpone 
• reschedule 
• shelve 
• suspend