Like many phrasal verbs, ‘put off’ can be used in several ways, depending on the context of the sentence.
But most commonly, ‘put off’ means to delay. For example:
Jeffrey is known for being a procrastinator because he always puts off doing work until the last minute.
In this sentence, “put off” means delaying a task because Jeffrey is unwilling to do it.
Another way to use “put off” is to describe a person’s behavior that may be troubling or cause discomfort to others. We use it in a sentence like this:
Picking your nose in public is a sure way to put people off.
In other words, picking your nose in public is very off-putting, so don’t do it!
Author: Katy Lia, Cambly Tutor
If you’d like to keep this conversation going with Katy, give her a call on Cambly or make a reservation with her here: https://www.cambly.com/en/student/tutor/Katy%20Lia