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

• defer
• delay
• hold off (on)
• hold over
• hold up
• lay over
• postpone
• put over
• remit
• shelve

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

A lot of companies may procrastinate or put off preparing for an outage. —Kevin Beasley, Forbes, 24 Sep. 2024

That's hardly noticeable, but even the slightest input lag might put off hard-core gamers and fans of action titles that require fast-twitch reflexes. —PCMAG, 12 Sep. 2024

Don’t put off buying those baby essentials—or the little things that make your life easier—because these deals are major. —Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 3 Sep. 2024

Increasing numbers of older Americans are putting off retirement, creating career-ladder gridlock for younger workers, Axios' Ivana Saric reports. —Mike Allen, Axios, 1 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

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

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