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)

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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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

put off

I’m not as put off as some people by Sabalenka’s racket-smashing vexations—tennis has seen far, far worse—but women’s tennis isn’t Aryna’s World anymore.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

It’s easy to put off forming an estate plan, and choosing an executor is another important step.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

It said there were fewer homes available to rent and - with potential first-time buyers put off by higher mortgage rates - competition for rental places in some areas was more intense.

From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026

The Dodgers also have put off a decision regarding whether Ohtani should pitch again this season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Fortunately, when we walked upstairs, I found that I had an excuse to put off the crucial model-building step for at least several more hours.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

Related Words

• adjourn
• postpone
• reschedule
• shelve
• suspend