Phrase guide

close off

verb · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To seal or block the entrance to a road, an area, or a building so that people cannot enter.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The police closed off the street while they investigated the murder scene.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

block off the passage through

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • We shut off the valve

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: shut off, block off

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: barricade, block, blockade, stop, block off, block up, bar

3

verb

Meaning 3

isolate or separate

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • She was shut off from the friends

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: shut off

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: separate, divide

Narrower terms: curtain off

4

verb

Meaning 4

stem the flow of

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • shut off the gas when you leave for a vacation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: shut off

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: discontinue, stop, cease, give up, quit, lay off

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.