From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishturn off phrasal verb1 turn something ↔ offSWITCH ON OR OFF to make a machine or piece of electrical equipment such as a television, engine, light etc stop operating by pushing a button, turning a key etc SYN switch off OPP turn on Don’t forget to turn the lights off when you leave.2 turn something ↔ offSWITCH ON OR OFF to stop the supply of water, gas etc from flowing by turning a handle OPP turn on They’ve turned the gas off for a couple of hours.3 turn off (something)TURN to leave the road you are travelling on and start travelling on another roadturn off (something) at/near etc I think we should have turned off at the last exit.turn off the road/motorway etc Mark turned off the highway and into Provincetown. → turn-off4 DON'T LIKE turn somebody ↔ off to make someone decide they do not like something Any prospective buyer will be turned off by the sight of rotting wood. → turn-off5 SEXY turn somebody ↔ off to make someone feel that they are not attracted to you in a sexual way OPP turn on Men who stink of beer really turn me off. → turn-off → turn→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
turn off• You forgot to turn the oven off!• With a gun held at his head he was forced to turn off all the alarms.• Then he stepped out of the room, turning off his box.• Organizers are considering turning off the air-conditioning for the event, or using it only sporadically.• Would you turn off the heater before you go to bed?• Don't forget to turn off the oven.• She turned off the water and stepped out on to the rug, dried herself, and dressed in jeans and a shirt.• There is no doubt that the ventilator may be turned off when in fact, the patient is already dead.turn off (something)• Pulling up to a stop sign, she touches the clutch and the engine turns off.• With a gun held at his head he was forced to turn off all the alarms.• Then he stepped out of the room, turning off his box.• Summertime is a great time to turn off that computer and get outdoors.• Organizers are considering turning off the air-conditioning for the event, or using it only sporadically.• She turned off the water and stepped out on to the rug, dried herself, and dressed in jeans and a shirt.• There is no doubt that the ventilator may be turned off when in fact, the patient is already dead.turn-offˈturn-off noun 1 [countable]TTR a smaller road that leads off a main road I missed the turn-off to the farm.2 [singular] informalSEXY something that makes you lose interest in something, especially sex Pornographic pictures are a real turn-off to most women. → turn off at turn1Examples from the Corpus
turn-off• The spectacle can be weird, unpleasant, a turn-off.• Hair on a guy's back is a real turn-off.• Take I-10 east, turning south at the Sonoita turn-off.• I think that was the turn-off for the campground. 