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

In recent months, rising mortgage rates have put off even the buyers who have remained in the fray.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

Farmer Jason Berg recently bought a Deere crop sprayer, but said he put off getting the smart-technology gear until his farm business improves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

United attempted to sign the Cameroon international near deadline day last summer but were put off by Brighton's valuation, which was in excess of £100m.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

“Anyway,” said Nicodemus, “it would put off moving the block until tomorrow night.”

From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien

Related Words

• adjourn
• postpone
• reschedule
• shelve
• suspend