cut off 1 of 2

verb

Definition of cut offnext
1
as in to stop
to bring (as an action or operation) to an immediate end the majority party cut off debate and forced a vote on the bill

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to separate
to set or keep apart from others the dog cut off the one sheep that had to be sheared

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

cutoff

2 of 2

noun

ˈkət-ˌȯf How to pronounce cutoff (audio)
as in cessation
the stopping of a process or activity with a cutoff for funding the war, military operations soon ground to a halt

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cut off
Verb
Lee’s films have often zeroed in on misfits and outcasts, cut off from society’s embrace. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026 There was a lot of rigamarole with the studio over Keanu Reeves, as John Wick, cutting off a finger in the John Wick series, so that’s an interesting yet familiar story. — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2026
Noun
Any permanent cutoff could be catastrophic for Ukraine’s war effort. — Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, 16 Oct. 2026 Using that cutoff and extrapolating the data to the entire Army population, the researchers estimate that about 26 percent of active-duty Army service members would get a test result suggesting low testosterone. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cut off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cut off
  1. stop
  2. separate
  3. cessation
  4. cease
  5. isolate
  6. ending
  7. end
  8. halt
Verb
  • Luigi Carbone, Pope Leo XIV's physician, said the pontiff's recovery from lung cancer surgery won't stop plans for a visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru involving a dozen flights and two helicopter rides to high altitudes.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Another to stop solving problems his team brings him and teach them to solve it instead.
    — Ben Plomion, Forbes.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of stop
Verb
  • The criticism follows Hinson's move to separate herself from the president's handling of the war with Iran late last month.
    — Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The Rams last won a district title in 2023, when schools were separated into Metro and Suburban and Seminole went 10-2 in a Metro district.
    — Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of separate
Noun
  • Abrupt cessation of this class can even trigger a rebound worse than baseline.
    — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Similarly, access to smoking-cessation treatment and harm-reduction resources varies substantially from country to country.
    — Emma Fenske, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of cessation
Verb
  • After Epstein's 2019 arrest, federal prosecutors asked New Mexico to cease its own investigation of Epstein's activities in New Mexico.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • After dramatically reducing the number of children in hotels over the past three years, DHS ceased the practice entirely in November 2025.
    — Mike Hellgren, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of cease
Verb
  • In 1894 French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin isolated the plague bacterium and connected rat infestations to the disease.
    — Faye Flam, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Yet future Israeli leaders may not be overly concerned about that problem, convinced that Israel, with its military might and technological edge, has too much to offer potential partners to be ignored or isolated.
    — Dalia Dassa Kaye, Foreign Affairs, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of isolate
Noun
  • Even people who like the film will leave yowling at the ending.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But even though that conclusion would be many times less schmaltzy than the actual film’s ending, Ishiguro won’t give it to us.
    — Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of ending
Verb
  • Letter writer second-guesses history of avoidant behavior after one phone argument ends a decades-long friendship.
    — Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2026
  • In a shocking upset, a student movement resoundingly beat longtime Serbian leader President Aleksandar Vucic, ending his time in power after 14 years.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of end
Noun
  • No bigger than a microwave oven, Idefix will plop onto Phobos by itself, bouncing for several minutes before coming to a halt in the moon's extraordinarily low gravity.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The sharp decline earlier this year in software stocks ground dealmaking in the sector to a halt, as CEOs were reluctant to sell at the bottom and private-equity firms struggled to raise the debt.
    — Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of halt

Browse Nearby Words

cut loose
cut off
cutoff
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cut off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cut%20off. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All