put off
SeparableThe object can go before or after the particle — but a pronoun MUST go in the middle: “clean it up”, never “clean up it”.
How to say it
Stress the particle, not the verb: put OFF. Saying “PUT off” is the clearest learner tell — the verb stays light and the particle carries the beat.
The /t/ flaps. Between vowels, American /t/ and /d/ both become a quick tap, so “put off” comes out as “pu-doff” — closer to a fast D than a T. Drop a pronoun in the middle and it flaps twice: “put it off” → “pu-di-doff”.
2 meanings
- 1
To postpone something until later.
- “We had to put off the meeting until next week.”
- “Stop putting it off and just call them.”
Similar: postpone, delay, defer
- 2
To make someone dislike something.
- “The smell put me off my food.”
- “His tone put a lot of people off.”
Similar: deter, repel