Main Entry: cast off

Function: verb

Date: 1575

transitive verb

1 : loose <cast off a hunting dog>
2 : unfasten <cast off a boat>
3 : to remove (a stitch) from a knitting needle in such a way as to prevent unravelingintransitive verb 1 : to unfasten or untie a boat or a line
2 : to turn one's partner in a square dance and pass around the outside of the set and back
3 : to finish a knitted fabric by casting off all stitches