close off

verb

closed off; closing off; closes off

: to not allow (something) to be used for a period of time : close

The city closed off the beach to tourists.

Half of the museum was closed off while they made the changes.

—sometimes used figuratively

He closes himself off to new experiences.

Examples of close off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Aerial footage showed a large law enforcement presence on Sunset Boulevard, which appeared to be closed off to traffic. — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026

French doors allow it to be closed off from the rest of the house for times when privacy and freedom from distractions are needed. — James Alexander, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2026

Houthi separatists in Yemen used aerial drones to close off the southern end of the Red Sea in the early 2020s, blocking a key alternate route for oil shipments around the Strait of Hormuz. — Amy Myers Jaffe, The Conversation, 4 Aug. 2026

Medical and dental care itself remains closed off to the private sector, even though paying for crowns, fillings and medical procedures under the table has become routine in the public health system. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2026

Rhymes for close off

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