turnoff
[turn-awf, -of]
- 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.
- a place at which one diverges from or changes a former course.
- an act of turning off.
- the finished product of a certain manufacturing process, as weaving.
- the quantity of fattened livestock distributed to market.
- Slang. something or someone that makes one unsympathetic or antagonistic.
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Origin of turnoff
First recorded in 1680–90; noun use of verb phrase turn off
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for turnoff
Contemporary Examples
But one incident was such a turnoff for him that it nearly got him off booze himself.
Former contributors to the site attest that the ruling "in-crowd" is a turnoff for new users.
Historical Examples
He met the captain at the corner of the "Turnoff" one day late in August.
Keziah CoffinJoseph C. Lincoln
Rick swung into the Seaford turnoff and slowed for the main street.
Smugglers' ReefJohn Blaine
Rick braked to a stop as the highway met the turnoff to Easton.
The Flying StingareeHarold Leland Goodwin
They reached the pumice works without seeing the geologist's lights again, and Rick stopped at the turnoff.
The Flaming MountainHarold Leland Goodwin
A few miles before the town of Lathrop Wells, Scotty spotted their turnoff.
The Scarlet Lake MysteryHarold Leland Goodwin