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

A self-replicating AI worm would be hard to stamp out, because there would be no central switch to turn off, Anthropic said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

He said he reported it immediately to the police and that during the call he asked the police if he could turn off the running taps to which he was told he could.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Some people might want to turn off the lights in this situation, he said, but that sends the wrong message.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

But when a clown’s only trick is shouting into a live microphone, the absolute worst thing that can happen is for the cameras to simply turn off.

From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026

“Nobody, but nobody,” he’d yell, “is too poor to turn off the TV two hours a night!”

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

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Related Words

• alienate
• bore
• irritate
• offend

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