1.
to move something to a later time
“We had to put off the meeting.”
“Don't put it off!”
“They put the trip off until next month.”
Synonyms: to postpone, to delay, to defer
Phrasal verb
What does put off mean?
Meaning: to move something to a later time
B1
This page for:
Quick answer
Put off = to move something to a later time (a meeting, a test). Don't put it off! = do it now, not later! It can also mean to make someone not like something. It is separable.
Meanings of the phrasal verb
2.
to make someone not like something
common“The smell put me off.”
“His attitude puts me off.”
Synonyms: to discourage, to dissuade
Word order
Separable
The object can go between the verb and the particle. With a pronoun (it, them), it always goes between.
Forms
- Present Simple:
- put off
- Past Simple:
- put off
- Past participle:
- put off
- -ing form:
- putting off
Common mistakes to avoid
The same in every form: put / put / put
Put is irregular but never changes. Yesterday I put off the trip is the Past Simple (the same as the present). Never putted ❌.
With a pronoun: between the verb and the particle
Put it off ✓ / Put off it ❌. With a noun, both orders work.
Put off + -ing
To say that you do something later, use put off + -ing: She put off doing her homework ✓ = she did it later. Never She put off to do her homework ❌.
Practice quiz
Question 1 / 3The Big Challenge question bank
Related pages: put off
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What's next?
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Frequently asked questions
What does put off mean?+
Put off = (1) to move something to a later date; (2) to make someone not like or not want something. The food put me off = after seeing the food, I didn't want to eat.
Is put off separable?+
Yes. With a noun: put off the meeting / put the meeting off. With a pronoun: put it off ✓.
What is the difference between put off and postpone?+
Both mean to move something to a later time. Put off is common in everyday speech. Postpone is formal and more common in writing: The concert has been postponed (an official message).
What is the past simple of put off?+
Put off (the same). Put is irregular but never changes: put / put / put. I put off the meeting yesterday.
What does off-putting mean?+
Off-putting is an adjective: something off-putting makes you not want it. The price was really off-putting = the price made me not want to buy it. It comes from meaning 2. The noun a put-off exists, but it is rare.
Related phrasal verbs
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/phrasal-verbs/put-off
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.