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

Companies have been put off by the high cost of creating training programs, but artificial intelligence provides a solution. —Cortney Harding, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025

Dex is too new to the city to be put off by a trip to Queens, and he’s also fixated on pumping Blessing’s friend, Chike, for information on his encounter with the Dark Passenger. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 11 July 2025

Streisand says she was put off by the negativity that often surrounded her interviews. —Rachel Desantis, People.com, 9 July 2025

As more and more recipes are converted to grams (my favorite measuring metric), there’s no reason to put off investing in a digital scale, especially with how affordable these gadgets can be. —Tyler Shane, Wired News, 3 July 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