as in to dump
to get rid of as useless or unwanted
once she became rich and didn't need them anymore, she cast off all her old friends like so much junk
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as in discarded
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Recent Examples of cast (off)
Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Mar. 2026
The 49ers, under coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, have not shied away from bringing back castoffs.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2026
Ira, so with a trade the team will be Bam Adebayo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jovic and a bunch of G Leaguers or castoffs.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 4 Feb. 2026
In the most roundabout way possible, an agency castoff had become the soul and voice of K-pop's greatest cultural phenomenon yet.
—Sheldon Pearce, NPR, 29 Jan. 2026
Women aren’t simply looking for grandma’s castoffs, though.
—Rachel Tashjian, CNN Money, 23 Jan. 2026
The overarching idea, which brands like Adidas have played with to varying degrees of success, is that making everything out of a single material eliminates the need to strip castoff garments of fiddly buttons and zippers, a time-consuming and often expensive process.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 20 Jan. 2026
Receiver Skyy Moore, a Kansas City Chiefs castoff, started in motion to his right and then came back left as quarterback Brock Purdy received a snap from under center.
—Michael Silver, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
And in the latest transaction for one of the Yankees’ AL rivals, that has meant a new home for a recent castoff.
—Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 2 Dec. 2025
Women in elegant African-print dresses carry burdens on their heads; men in cast-off Western clothes push wooden carts laden with potatoes and carrots.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Close to cast-off time, the tour company canceled the excursion.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Nov. 2025
And its current depth chart at the position is headed by Anthony Richardson and New York Giants cast-off Daniel Jones.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 27 Aug. 2025
Horák had similarly repurposed cast-off items to deliver a vegetarian course of cavatelli pasta.
—Christine Muhlke, Travel + Leisure, 11 Aug. 2025
There was blood cast-off on the walls in various places, including above Xana's body.
—Robert Birsel
hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025
The object doesn’t display a large tail or enveloping coma of cast-off gas, only a hint of dust—but that is expected to change soon.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 16 July 2025
On the table in the middle of the room were silicone peels reminiscent of cast-off snakeskin.
—Literary Hub, 14 July 2025
Noun
The Swedish textile recycler and the Finnish material innovator worked together to turn castoff clothing into new fibers back when Circulose was known as Renewcell and under its pre-bankruptcy management.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Mar. 2026
The 49ers, under coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, have not shied away from bringing back castoffs.
—Cam Inman, Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2026
Ira, so with a trade the team will be Bam Adebayo, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jovic and a bunch of G Leaguers or castoffs.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 4 Feb. 2026
In the most roundabout way possible, an agency castoff had become the soul and voice of K-pop's greatest cultural phenomenon yet.
—Sheldon Pearce, NPR, 29 Jan. 2026
Women aren’t simply looking for grandma’s castoffs, though.
—Rachel Tashjian, CNN Money, 23 Jan. 2026
The overarching idea, which brands like Adidas have played with to varying degrees of success, is that making everything out of a single material eliminates the need to strip castoff garments of fiddly buttons and zippers, a time-consuming and often expensive process.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 20 Jan. 2026
Receiver Skyy Moore, a Kansas City Chiefs castoff, started in motion to his right and then came back left as quarterback Brock Purdy received a snap from under center.
—Michael Silver, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
And in the latest transaction for one of the Yankees’ AL rivals, that has meant a new home for a recent castoff.
—Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
The Patriots patched their defensive line with players like Cory Durden, a Giants cast-off who proved worthy of a starting spot at least for one night.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 2 Dec. 2025
Women in elegant African-print dresses carry burdens on their heads; men in cast-off Western clothes push wooden carts laden with potatoes and carrots.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
Close to cast-off time, the tour company canceled the excursion.
—The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Nov. 2025
And its current depth chart at the position is headed by Anthony Richardson and New York Giants cast-off Daniel Jones.
—Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 27 Aug. 2025
Horák had similarly repurposed cast-off items to deliver a vegetarian course of cavatelli pasta.
—Christine Muhlke, Travel + Leisure, 11 Aug. 2025
There was blood cast-off on the walls in various places, including above Xana's body.
—Robert Birsel
hollie Silverman, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025
The object doesn’t display a large tail or enveloping coma of cast-off gas, only a hint of dust—but that is expected to change soon.
—Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 16 July 2025
On the table in the middle of the room were silicone peels reminiscent of cast-off snakeskin.
—Literary Hub, 14 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cast (off)
Verb
-
The fiery atmospheric reentries of satellites would be a source of pollution, too, dumping significant amounts of vaporized metal and plastic into our planet’s fragile upper atmosphere.—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The volunteer cleaning teams found sofas, mattresses and other items dumped illegally on the streets and behind businesses.—
Staff report,
Daily News,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
New rejects include four additional variations of 04FCSK and several other attempts at sneaking in the f-word, including 0F0KS and 0FUX4U. Other additions include: 1. 0GB0SS 2. 0HCR4P 3. B4DAZZ 4.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
14 Jan. 2026
-
These days, the aviary houses parakeets that are mostly rejects from friends whose kids got bored with them.—
Inga,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
In another development, researchers in the US developed a new method that could turn discarded data center hardware into a reliable, eco-friendly source of rare earths and valuable metals.—
Aman Tripathi,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Constructing his earliest works from castoff two-by-fours, Mosley soon progressed to carving small figures and from there to using a chisel and gauge to shape larger abstract forms from fallen logs of hickory, cherry, and sycamore discarded by the city’s parks department.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
8 Mar. 2026
-
Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with drops of Angostura Bitters and a lemon peel, discarded.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
7 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Other castaways include Season 1’s Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, Season 2’s Colby Donaldson, and Cirie Fields, competing for the fifth time.—
Armando Tinoco,
Deadline,
5 Mar. 2026
-
The show quickly became a phenomenon, and along with watching castaways eat (and call each other) rats, viewers took note of Probst.—
Paige Cornwell,
Twin Cities,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
His cell phone was also in the van at the time, which his wife and police were able to track to the 1500 block of West Homer Street, where the thieves ditched it.—
Sabrina Franza,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Georgia Senators are again trying to ditch the state’s touchscreen voting system and replace it with paper ballots filled out by hand, the AJC’s Caleb Groves reports.—
Adam Beam,
AJC.com,
3 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
There are no varsity quarterbacks or Olympic hopefuls among these quirkmasters, just a heaping of outcasts who believe their lot in life rests on words like capybara and tittup.—
David John Chávez,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Thomas Harris grew up in the South as a bookish outcast, reading the works of Ernest Hemingway and Jonathan Swift.—
Costa Beavin Pappas,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Breakfast is served in the Heritage Room, and is never too copious, in line with the hotel's anti-waste policy.—
Maddalena Fossati,
Condé Nast Traveler,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Local laws and supplier audits The OECD has called on Shein to publish further public information about its compliance with France’s anti-waste law (AGEC), which aims to move businesses toward greater circularity.—
Meghan Hall,
Sourcing Journal,
1 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cast (off).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cast%20%28off%29. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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