1
: a place where one turns off
especially
: exit sense 4
2
: one that causes loss of interest or enthusiasm
the music was a turnoff
3
: a turning off
turned off; turning off; turns off
1
: to stop the flow of or shut off by or as if by turning a control
turn the water off
2
: to cause to lose interest : bore
economics turns me off
also
: to evoke a negative feeling in
5
6
7
a
: to remove (material) by the process of turning
b
: to shape or produce by turning
1
: to deviate from a straight course or from a main road
turn off into a side road
3
: to lose interest : withdraw
Examples of turnoff in a Sentence
Noun
His strong cologne was a real turnoff.
Verb
that memorably bad meal turned me off about restaurant food for a while
turn off at the third exit and follow the ramp to your left
Recent Examples on the Web
Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 9 July 2025
For some, the drama on and off screen has been a turnoff.
—Samantha Genzer, NBC news, 14 July 2025
Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2025
When lenders turn off the money spigot – or charge dearly for access – that means regular people ultimately pay the price.
—Luciana Lopez, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for turnoff
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
The difficulty of 75 Hard hasn’t served as a turnoff for the nearly 1 million people who have completed the program, according to its website.
—Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 9 July 2025
For some, the drama on and off screen has been a turnoff.
—Samantha Genzer, NBC news, 14 July 2025
Verb
The idea is to preserve the wide game compatibility of Windows—and the wide compatibility with multiple storefronts, including Microsoft's own, Valve's Steam, the Epic Games Store, and more—while turning off all of the extra Windows desktop stuff and saving system resources.
—Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 20 Aug. 2025
When lenders turn off the money spigot – or charge dearly for access – that means regular people ultimately pay the price.
—Luciana Lopez, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for turnoff
Cite this Entry
“Turnoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/turnoff. Accessed 30 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
turnoff
1 of 2 noun
turn·off
ˈtər-ˌnȯf 
1
: a place where one turns off (as from a road)
2
: something that causes loss of interest or enjoyment
the music was a turnoff
turn off
2 of 2 verbˌtər-ˈnȯf,
ˈtər-
1
: to turn aside
turned off onto a side road
2
: to stop by or as if by turning a control
turn off the light
turn the alarm off
3
: to cause dislike or loss of interest
that sort of thing turns me off
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