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 object doesn’t display a large tail or enveloping coma of cast-off gas, only a hint of dust—but that is expected to change soon. —Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 16 July 2025

On the table in the middle of the room were silicone peels reminiscent of cast-off snakeskin. —Literary Hub, 14 July 2025

Verb

But when there is a genuine hunger to cast off the chains of oppressive regimes, as happened during the Arab Spring, the free world should offer support. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 4 July 2025

Four years later, an America-first cultural crackdown has freed the Met to cast off the hair shirt of reckoning and celebrate its diverse holdings in a spirit of defiance. —Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 30 June 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