Turnoff Definition & Meaning

American

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms turnoff American [turn-awf, -of] / ˈtɜrnˌɔf, -ˌɒf /

noun

1. a small road that branches off from a larger one, especially a ramp or exit leading off a major highway.

   He took the wrong turnoff and it took him some 15 minutes to get back on the turnpike.

2. a place at which one diverges from or changes a former course.

3. an act of turning off.

4. the finished product of a certain manufacturing process, as weaving.

5. the quantity of fattened livestock distributed to market.

6. Slang. something or someone that makes one unsympathetic or antagonistic.

Etymology

Origin of turnoff

First recorded in 1680–90; noun use of verb phrase turn off

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Yet there is also a possibility that OpenAI’s mass-market appeal becomes a turnoff for corporate customers who want AI to be more boring and useful than fun and edgy.

From The Wall Street Journal

I passed the turnoff to the waterfall, climbed the steep paved hill and touched the Pinecrest Gate leading out to the streets of Altadena.

From Los Angeles Times

Finally, the continually shrinking foal crop has made race fields small, a turnoff for bettors who like full fields to offer more options.

From Los Angeles Times

The one time the Met tried a remarkable Wagner staging, Robert Wilson’s production of “Lohengrin,” it proved an audience turnoff.

From Los Angeles Times

She told council members the conditions are demoralizing to staff and a turnoff to potential recruits coming for interviews.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• bore
• deterrent
• drag
• nuisance
• pain

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.