turnoff

[ turn-awf, -of ]

noun

1. a small road that branches off from a larger one, especially a ramp or exit leading off a major highway:

   He took the wrong turnoff and it took him some 15 minutes to get back on the turnpike.

2. a place at which one diverges from or changes a former course.
3. an act of turning off.
4. the finished product of a certain manufacturing process, as weaving.
5. the quantity of fattened livestock distributed to market.
6. Slang. something or someone that makes one unsympathetic or antagonistic.

Word History and Origins

Origin of turnoff¹

First recorded in 1680–90; noun use of verb phrase turn off

Example Sentences

Even as we approached the turnoff to Highway 14 that would take us past my hometown, I began to waffle.

From Vox

Aparicio thought about buying a Peloton during the pandemic, but the price of the equipment—anywhere between $1,500 and $2,500—was a turnoff.

From Time

Kendall is absolutely right that his dad is a terrible person, but the ways in which he’s expressing that idea are an active turnoff to his siblings, who are still deeply ensnared in their father’s web.

From Vox

Around a final bend, I eased off the gas, coasting down the slope, scanning the left side of the road for the turnoff.

From Outside Online

Rest easy with the auto turnoff feature, which shuts off the device when it’s getting overheated.

From Popular-Science

But one incident was such a turnoff for him that it nearly got him off booze himself.

From The Daily Beast

Another big turnoff is its inability to play Flash video, resulting in thousands of Web sites showing up with empty white squares.

From The Daily Beast

Former contributors to the site attest that the ruling "in-crowd" is a turnoff for new users.

From The Daily Beast

A few miles before the town of Lathrop Wells, Scotty spotted their turnoff.

From Project Gutenberg

He told the boys how he planted himself at the Pahrump Valley turnoff because the sedan would have to turn on lights there.

From Project Gutenberg

A turnoff to darkness has been deliberately taken, superstition has been embraced while knowledge has been destroyed.

From Project Gutenberg

Rick braked to a stop as the highway met the turnoff to Easton.

From Project Gutenberg

They reached the pumice works without seeing the geologist's lights again, and Rick stopped at the turnoff.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bore
• deterrent
• drag
• nuisance
• pain