turn off

British  

verb

1. to leave (a road, pathway, etc)

2. (of a road, pathway, etc) to deviate from (another road, etc)

3. (tr, adverb) to cause (something) to cease operating by turning a knob, pushing a button, etc

   to turn off the radio

4. informal (tr) to cause (a person, etc) to feel dislike or distaste for (something)

   this music turns me off

5. informal (tr, adverb) to dismiss from employment

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noun

1. a road or other way branching off from the main thoroughfare

2. informal a person or thing that elicits dislike or distaste

turn off Idioms  

1. Stop the operation, activity, or flow of; shut off, as in Turn off the lights when you leave . [Mid-1800s]

2. Affect with dislike, revulsion, or boredom; cause to lose interest. For example, That vulgar comedian turned us off completely , or The movie was all right for an hour or so, but then I was turned off . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

turn off

Ships turn off their transponders so the activity is hard to track.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Hormuz transits are hard to measure, mostly because ships transiting the strategic waterway turn off their GPS-like signals for security measures and to avoid Iranian attacks.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

That legislation would also have required tech firms to be able to turn off the models they directly control if things went awry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026

If tech firms such as Meta, Google and TikTok did not give the option to turn off algorithms, they should face "substantial" penalties, she said.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Dad had to turn off the air conditioner so the engine wouldn’t overheat.

From "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" by Lauren Tarshis

Related Words

• alienate
• bore
• irritate
• offend