cast-off

1 of 2

adjective

ˈkast-ˌȯf 

: thrown away or aside

castoff noun

cast off

2 of 2

verb

cast off; casting off; casts off

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 unraveling

intransitive 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

Examples of cast-off in a Sentence

Verb

once she became rich and didn't need them anymore, she cast off all her old friends like so much junk

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The Patriots patched their defensive line with players like Cory Durden, a Giants cast-off who proved worthy of a starting spot at least for one night. —Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 2 Dec. 2025

Women in elegant African-print dresses carry burdens on their heads; men in cast-off Western clothes push wooden carts laden with potatoes and carrots. —Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025

Verb

During the expansion and casting off phase, any planets orbiting close to the star are destroyed. —Keith Cooper, Space.com, 24 Nov. 2025

Instead, their genome has cast off much of their ability to reproduce on their own. —Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 24 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1613, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1575, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for cast-off

• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff
• playoff

Kids Definition

cast-off

adjective

ˈkas-ˌtȯf

: thrown away or aside

cast-off clothes

castoff noun