turn off
Britishverb
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to leave (a road, pathway, etc)
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(of a road, pathway, etc) to deviate from (another road, etc)
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(tr, adverb) to cause (something) to cease operating by turning a knob, pushing a button, etc
to turn off the radio
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informal (tr) to cause (a person, etc) to feel dislike or distaste for (something)
this music turns me off
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informal (tr, adverb) to dismiss from employment
noun
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a road or other way branching off from the main thoroughfare
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informal a person or thing that elicits dislike or distaste
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Stop the operation, activity, or flow of; shut off, as in Turn off the lights when you leave . [Mid-1800s]
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Affect with dislike, revulsion, or boredom; cause to lose interest. For example, That vulgar comedian turned us off completely , or The movie was all right for an hour or so, but then I was turned off . [ Slang ; mid-1900s]
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Once created, it would be hard to stamp out, because there would be no central switch to turn off.
From Barron's â Oct. 13, 2026
I use the Amazon Echo Show device daily, sometimes to play music, but mostly to set timers and turn off all the lights before bedtime.
From The Wall Street Journal â Oct. 13, 2026
He said he reported it immediately to the police and that during the call he asked the police if he could turn off the running taps to which he was told he could.
From BBC â Oct. 8, 2026
Some people might want to turn off the lights in this situation, he said, but that sends the wrong message.
From Los Angeles Times â Oct. 1, 2026
I retch and vomit like I'm a tap that can't turn off.
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ÂĐ Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American HeritageÂŪ Idioms Dictionary copyright ÂĐ 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
