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 of put off

• 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

Don’t put off scooping up the best TVs and projectors on sale at Amazon. —Mia Huelsbeck, PEOPLE, 4 Jan. 2026

Cole faces two criminal offenses, but the magistrate judge put off immediately accepting an indictment returned by a grand jury convened in the District of Columbia Superior Court on Monday. —Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 2 Jan. 2026

The tariff delay would put off the hike until after the midterm election, which is expected to revolve around cost-of-living issues. —Zac Anderson, USA Today, 1 Jan. 2026

Price rises can be more apparent than real, as cafe and hairdressers may put off printing new menus and price lists ahead of the change, so that increases are only delayed, not caused by the euro. —Veselin Toshkov, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

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