off-limits
adjective
off-lim·its
ˈȯf-ˈli-məts 
: not to be entered or patronized especially by a designated class of people
Certain areas of the museum are off-limits to visitors.
also
: not to be interfered with, considered, or spoken of
The subject of politics was off-limits in her family.
Examples of off-limits in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In an interview with NBC News, the country’s deputy prime minister, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, said those investments could go into sectors previously off-limits to Cuba’s private sector, including the country’s crumbling infrastructure.
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Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 17 Mar. 2026
Around the world, spas are often physically inaccessible, retreats off-limits by design, and practitioners limited in their ability and training to see disabled bodies as deserving of the restoration everyone so desperately needs.
—Sophie Morgan, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Mar. 2026
The time that Ohm spends trapped in that off-limits room, overnight and in near darkness save for a small lamp, packs the film’s most effective scares, but even as information about what’s occurring at this establishment comes to light, more questions about how it’s all meant to fit together arise.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 15 Mar. 2026
The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of the world’s energy flows, is essentially off-limits to tanker traffic.
—Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for off-limits
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Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 17 Mar. 2026
Around the world, spas are often physically inaccessible, retreats off-limits by design, and practitioners limited in their ability and training to see disabled bodies as deserving of the restoration everyone so desperately needs.
—Sophie Morgan, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Mar. 2026
The time that Ohm spends trapped in that off-limits room, overnight and in near darkness save for a small lamp, packs the film’s most effective scares, but even as information about what’s occurring at this establishment comes to light, more questions about how it’s all meant to fit together arise.
—Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 15 Mar. 2026
The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of the world’s energy flows, is essentially off-limits to tanker traffic.
—Daniel Depetris, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for off-limits
Cite this Entry
“Off-limits.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/off-limits. Accessed 22 Mar. 2026.
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