From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrope something ↔ off phrasal verbAROUND/ROUNDto surround an area with ropes, especially in order to separate it from another area The stairs were roped off. → rope→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
rope off• After a pause to coil up the heavy ropes we set off for Gimmer.• Two long thick braids like ropes swung off her head to the bottom of her back.• Most of the building is closed off, under repair, with ropes cordoning off huge sections.• A protesting crowd of sixty thousand assembled; hundreds were handcuffed or their arms fastened with ropes and led off to jail. 