turn off

phrasal verb·1 sense·particle off

Meanings

1

Deactivate a device

Why “off”? The connection stops. The machine, light, or device stops working.

Turn off the lights when you leave.
Switch off the lights when you leave the room.
Turn off the oven before leaving.
Switch off the oven before leaving.

Don't confuse with

turn offturn on

Turn off means deactivate a device. Turn on means activate a device.

turn offturn down

Turn off means deactivate a device. Turn down means lower the volume, heat or intensity.

Test yourself

Turn off the lights when you leave. What does it mean?

Nearby in the meaning map

Sink In connects verbs by particle pattern, contrast pairs, and shared base verbs.

Tell it apart

Side-by-side comparisons with the verbs learners most often confuse for “turn off”.

Practice “turn off” in Sink In

Drill this and 600+ phrasal verbs with spaced repetition, organised by particle.