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

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

And its current depth chart at the position is headed by Anthony Richardson and New York Giants cast-off Daniel Jones. —Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 27 Aug. 2025

Verb

This gas then erupts from the shell of the comet, casting off solid dust and growing the halo around a comet, the coma, and its characteristic cometary tail. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 31 Oct. 2025

Buehler joined the Phillies earlier this month after being cast off by the Boston Red Sox. —Peter Chawaga, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 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