cast-off

adjective \ ˈkast-ˌȯf \

Updated on: 15 May 2018

Definition of cast-off

: thrown away or aside

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castoff

noun

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First Known Use of cast-off

1613

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

cast off

verb

Definition of cast 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

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

Recent Examples of cast off from the Web

Check with staff to find the best places to cast off by season.

— amy aumick, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Explore Florida's Santa Rosa County: Home to famous blackwater," 7 May 2018
For a little while, Rosenstein was able to cast off the worries of overseeing the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and the occasional public musings from President Trump about whether to fire him.

— mark sherman, BostonGlobe.com, "Rosenstein puts aside Russia inquiry to argue case at Supreme Court," 23 Apr. 2018
Since different compounds cast off different identifiable wavelengths of light, scientists were able to determine what compounds were inside Uranus’s atmosphere by studying their wavelengths.

— alexia lafata, The Cut, "Uranus Smells Like Farts," 24 Apr. 2018
Xenophobes and racists in Europe are casting off any sense of embarrassment — like Hungary’s Viktor Orban.

— marc santora, New York Times, "Hungary Election Gives Orban Big Majority, and Control of Constitution," 8 Apr. 2018
In the summer of ’15, when power forward LaMarcus Aldridge bolted Portland for San Antonio, the team cast off veterans Nic Batum and Wesley Matthews as well.

— lee jenkins, SI.com, "How Damian Lillard Redefined the Meaning of 'Dame Time'," 5 Apr. 2018
Gloucester is all too quick to believe Edmund’s lies and cast off Edgar (Oliver Johnstone), the son who actually loves him.

— elisabeth vincentelli, New York Times, "Review: A ‘King Lear’ in Which You Feel for All the Daughters," 12 Apr. 2018
While Westbrook has been less efficient and less productive than last season, the quality of his play hasn’t swung so wildly that he should be cast off.

— ben golliver, SI.com, "The Crossover's All-NBA and All-Defensive Picks: Who Deserves to Make First Team?," 11 Apr. 2018
Before casting off every shred of dignity and abandoning itself to good-humored excess, the movie passes itself off as a reasonably serious science fiction movie.

— mick lasalle, San Antonio Express-News, "Review: More monsters, more fun in ‘Rampage’," 11 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cast off.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.