To delay something to a later time; or to cause someone to feel discouraged, disgusted, or less interested.
To do something later instead of now; or to make someone not want to do something because it's unpleasant.
4 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
To delay or postpone something to a later date or time.
"We'll have to put off the picnic until the weather improves."
Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.
— Attributed to Thomas Jefferson; also a common proverb
To cause someone to feel dislike, disgust, or loss of interest.
"The strong smell of paint really put me off my food."
To distract or disturb someone so they lose concentration.
"Stop whispering — you're putting me off!"
To persuade someone to wait or to dismiss them without a commitment.
"He kept trying to put off his creditors with vague promises."
One of the most common phrasal verbs in English. Separable: 'put it off' and 'put off the meeting' are both correct. The discouragement sense takes a person as object: 'That smell put me off.' The delay sense takes a thing or event as object.
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
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