What Does Cut Off Mean?
Cut off has several meanings. The three you will meet most are stop a supply, separate someone from others, and interrupt someone who is speaking. It can also mean remove by cutting, and, in American English, swerve in front of a vehicle.
The storm cut off the power for three hours.
The phone line went dead because the call was cut off.
In both sentences, something stopped suddenly.
🗣️ Natural Examples
The water company cut off our supply because the bill was late, and the tap went very quiet.
The river flood cut the village off from the road.
Please do not cut me off. I am halfway through the story of my hamster.
The road was cut off by a flood, so the bus driver ate his sandwich in peace.
Mum cut the crusts off my sandwich.
A scooter cut us off at the corner, so Dad braked hard.
✂️ Can You Separate It?
Yes. Cut off is separable, so the object can go in the middle.
With a noun, both places are fine.
✅ Cut the power off.
✅ Cut off the power.
With it, him, her, them, the small word must go in the middle.
✅ Cut it off.
❌ Cut off it.
🛠️ How to Use It
- Cut off a supply (power, water, gas) when it is stopped.
- Cut someone off when you interrupt them, or when you separate them from others.
- Be cut off when you are isolated or no longer connected.
- Cut something off to remove it by cutting: cut the crusts off.
- Cut someone off in traffic (American English) when you swerve in front of them.
⚠️ Common Mistakes
Cut off or cut off it? The pronoun goes in the middle.
❌ She cut off it.
✅ She cut it off.
Which small word comes next? Use from for what someone is separated from.
❌ The village was cut off to the road.
✅ The village was cut off from the road.
💬 In a Conversation
Leo: Why did the lights go out?
Ava: The storm cut off the power.
Leo: So we have no internet?
Ava: Sorry, the connection was cut off too.
💡 The OddLingo Trick
Picture a pair of scissors cutting a rope. The rope is the supply or the sentence, and the scissors cut it off at once.
👯 Similar Expressions
- turn off: switch off a device. See Turn On, Turn Off.
- break off: stop suddenly, for example a friendship or a talk.
- interrupt: the formal word for stopping someone who is speaking.