put off

verb

put off; putting off; puts off

transitive verb

1

a

: disconcert

b

: repel

2

a

: to hold back to a later time

b

: to induce to wait

put the bill collector off

3

: to rid oneself of : take off

4

: to sell or pass fraudulently

Synonyms

• postpone
• delay
• put over
• defer

Examples of put off in a Sentence

never put off until tomorrow what you can do today

put off your coat and stay awhile

Recent Examples on the Web

Dennis-Sutton, like Allar and about a half dozen of their talented teammates, decided to put off the NFL to return to Happy Valley this season to chase championships and finally help relieve Franklin of his big-game burden. —Ralph D. Russo, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025

Students from the kingdom are increasingly turning away from US universities in particular, put off by a mix of hostile immigration policies, concerns over gun violence, and the kingdom’s own push to grow its domestic education sector. —Manal Albarakati, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2025

Rich Wilken, 78, put off retirement as an architect after losing his Pacific Palisades home of 47 years, and agreed to design 10 new houses in the burn area for himself and friends. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025

While automakers are putting off and/or cancelling vehicles that only run on electrons, given high development costs and a weak market, Subaru is confident in the direction it is headed. —Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for put off

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

Kids Definition

put off

verb

1

: to cause negative feelings in

your sloppy appearance put them off

2

: to hold back to a later time : defer

put off my visit to the dentist

3

: to rid oneself of

put off your coat