cast off; casting off; casts off
1
: loose
cast off a hunting dog
2
: unfasten
cast off a boat
3
: to remove (a stitch) from a knitting needle in such a way as to prevent unraveling
1
: to unfasten or untie a boat or a line
2
: to turn one's partner in a square dance and pass around the outside of the set and back
3
: to finish a knitted fabric by casting off all stitches
Examples of cast-off in a Sentence
Verb
once she became rich and didn't need them anymore, she cast off all her old friends like so much junk
Recent Examples on the Web
Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
Weisman had landed on the floor and was flat on his back amid an upturned ashtray, a cast-off tablecloth and a clutter of broken crystal.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 29 Sep. 2024
Leo Barraclough, Variety, 16 Oct. 2024
Still, the creators of Northern Ireland took no chances: Ulster traditionally had nine counties, but the unionist leaders decided to cast off three counties with large Catholic majorities, locking in a statelet with a seemingly insurmountable Protestant majority.
—Daniel Finn, Foreign Affairs, 21 Aug. 2019
See all Example Sentences for cast-off 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Adjective
Russia tops the chart of cast-off rockets at this altitude, with 512 uncontrolled spacecraft that could ultimately threaten robotic and human explorers across low Earth orbit.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes, 13 Oct. 2024
Weisman had landed on the floor and was flat on his back amid an upturned ashtray, a cast-off tablecloth and a clutter of broken crystal.
—Lizz Schumer, People.com, 29 Sep. 2024
Verb
The gloom of the post-war years is slowly cast off and the hip neighbors have purchased a television set.
—Leo Barraclough, Variety, 16 Oct. 2024
Still, the creators of Northern Ireland took no chances: Ulster traditionally had nine counties, but the unionist leaders decided to cast off three counties with large Catholic majorities, locking in a statelet with a seemingly insurmountable Protestant majority.
—Daniel Finn, Foreign Affairs, 21 Aug. 2019
See all Example Sentences for cast-off
Dictionary Entries Near cast-off
Cite this Entry
“Cast-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cast-off. Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share