turnoff
Americannoun
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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.
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a place at which one diverges from or changes a former course.
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an act of turning off.
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the finished product of a certain manufacturing process, as weaving.
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the quantity of fattened livestock distributed to market.
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Slang. something or someone that makes one unsympathetic or antagonistic.
Etymology
Origin of turnoff
First recorded in 1680–90; noun use of verb phrase turn off
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She doesn’t need the imprimatur of an established brand to maintain an audience; as trust in institutions plummets, such affiliations can even be a turnoff.
From Slate • May 6, 2026
That last bit represents an especially stubborn turnoff for some Academy members over the years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026
So, it’s understandable if the iShares quality ETF, QUAL, goes for a little more, but it’s a bigger turnoff that it does so after having underperformed since its launch in 2013.
From Barron's • Dec. 26, 2025
I woke in Avalon and pedaled my fat bike along Pebbly Beach Road to the turnoff for Wrigley Road.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2025
Around 6:40 a.m., just minutes before dawn, Keith and Jim neared milepost 106.6, which was right around the turnoff to a gun range.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
