close off

phrasal 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

Preller doesn’t ever close off possibilities. —Brittany Ghiroli, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025

Notices to Airmen and Mariners were issued in advance, closing off flight paths and shipping lanes for safety. —Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 26 Sep. 2025

At the time, Tehran was a booming culture capital of the region, before the revolution would close off the nation to the modern world. —Sofia Celeste, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2025

Democrats at the time went so far as to close off popular attractions, such as the World War II Memorial on the National Mall and the Smithsonian museums. —Al Weaver, The Hill, 24 Sep. 2025

Rhymes for close off

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