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put off

to postpone; to discourage

In Phrasal Verbs

In more detail

1. (verb) to delay or postpone something

2. (verb) to make someone lose interest or feel annoyed about something

Examples

• 1. We had to put off the meeting until next week because the director was sick.
• 2. His rude behavior really put me off, so I didn't want to talk to him anymore.

How to use put off

Put off has two distinct uses: to delay an event or task ("We had to put off the wedding"), or to discourage or repel someone ("His rude behavior put me off"). In the second sense, it often appears in passive constructions or with an object pronoun. It is common in both spoken and written English.

Common phrases

• put off a meeting
• put off until tomorrow
• put someone off
• put off by something
• don't put me off

Synonyms

postpone · delay · defer · reschedule · displease

Opposites

advance · expedite · encourage

Word family

putting off · put off · puts off

A common mistake

Learners sometimes confuse the two meanings or use the wrong preposition; put off requires the particle 'off' and is different from 'put aside' or 'put away', which have different meanings.

Nearby in Phrasal Verbs

pick up, point out, pull off, put up with, rule out, run into

Keep going

How to remember the words you read · Spaced repetition, explained