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

There's no mention of a door to close off the toilet from the shower, but the toilet is up and out of the way of the shower, not right in it. —New Atlas, 14 Nov. 2025

Clement made the most of an unknown entry point into the firescape that the National Guard closed off to the public. —Esther Tseng, Bon Appetit Magazine, 11 Nov. 2025

There are more bathrooms inside the Well, but they are closed off to fans attending basketball games and reserved for those using the student facilities, which remain open during basketball games. —Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 7 Nov. 2025

This meant several security checkpoints were closed off, requiring all travelers to funnel through only two terminals; typically nine security checkpoints are open. —Sydney Lake, Fortune, 4 Nov. 2025

Rhymes for close off

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