cut off

Formscuts off, cutting off, cut off

1. 1
   removephrasal verbtransitive

   To remove something by cutting it away, as a branch from a tree or a strip from a piece of fabric.

   Cut off the dead branches before they fall on the roof.

   The butcher cut off the extra fat before weighing the steak.

   Similartrim, prune

2. 2
   stop someone talkingphrasal verbtransitive

   To interrupt someone in the middle of what they are saying.

   The chair cut her off before she could finish her point about the budget.

   Please don't cut off the speaker; questions come at the end.

   Similarinterrupt

   Note

   The object here is the speaker, not the speech: the chair cut her off, whereas a broadcast that stops midway belongs to the sense of ending abruptly. As with every sense of the verb, a pronoun goes between the two words (she cut me off, never she cut off me), while a noun can sit on either side: cut the caller off, cut off the caller.

3. 3
   power supplyphrasal verbtransitive

   To stop the supply or provision of something, such as power or water.

   The utility will cut off the water on Elm Street for six hours on Tuesday.

   Engineers cut off the power to the damaged line before anyone touched it.

   Similardisconnect, suspend, stop

   Oppositerestore, reconnect

4. 4
   isolatephrasal verbtransitive

   To isolate someone or something, removing them from contact with others.

   The landslide cut off the village from the rest of the valley for a week.

   Living alone in the mountains, he felt cut off from the world.

   Similarisolate, separate

5. 5
   in trafficphrasal verbCanadaUStransitive

   While driving, to swerve into the space just ahead of another car.

   A pickup cut off the bus on the freeway, and the driver had to slam on the brakes.

   Some jerk cut me off at the light and then waved like nothing happened.

   Note

   The split is regional: in the US and Canada a driver who swerves in ahead of you cuts you off, while in Britain and Ireland the same driver cuts you up. Either the person or the vehicle can be the object, so a truck cut me off and a truck cut off the bus are both normal.

6. 6
   refuse morephrasal verbtransitive

   To stop providing someone with money or anything else they have been getting.

   Her father threatened to cut her off if she dropped out of law school.

   The bartender cut off the loud customer after his fifth beer.

   Note

   The object is the person, and the thing withheld is left to context: parents cut a son off to push him into finding a job, and a bartender's "I'm cutting you off" means no more drinks. That is the difference from cutting off a supply, where the water or the power itself is the object.

7. 7
   end midwayphrasal verbtransitive

   To bring something to a sudden end.

   The network cut off the broadcast in the middle of the senator's speech.

   Our video call was cut off just as the doctor started explaining the results.

   Similarinterrupt, end, terminate, stop

8. 8
   limit (or shortcut)noun · cut-off

   Alternative spelling of cutoff.

   The cut-off for early registration is midnight on Friday.

   Applicants who scored below the cut-off were placed on a waiting list.

   Note

   The hyphenated noun carries the whole range of cutoff, from a deadline or a threshold score to a shortcut road. Railway usage gives it a precise technical life: on a steam locomotive the cut-off is the control that saves steam by regulating how much reaches the cylinder, set by the driver alongside the regulator.

9. 9
   block pathphrasal verbtransitive

   To move into someone's path so as to block them from going a certain way.

   The defender cut off the striker before she could reach the goal.

   Two guards cut him off at the end of the hallway.

   Similarblock, intercept

10. 10
    trimmed clothesadjective · cut-off

    Of a shirt or pair of pants, having had the sleeves or legs shortened by cutting away material from the ends.

    He showed up to the barbecue in cut-off jeans and flip-flops.

    The lifeguard wore a faded cut-off shirt that showed his sunburned arms.

11. 11
    switch (devices)phrasal verbdialectalSouthern USUStransitive

    To switch off a light or other electrical device.

    Y'all cut off the TV and come eat supper.

    Mama always cuts off the porch light before she goes to bed.

    Note

    Southern American speech uses it for any switch: cut off the lamp, the TV, the porch light, where most speakers would say turn off. Elsewhere the phrase leans toward stopping a supply, so a listener from outside the region may picture the power being shut off at the source. In writing for a general audience, turn off is the safer choice.

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