cut off — isolate (separate from others or from help)
phrasal verbB2IELTS 6+neutralcommon
To make someone or something unable to reach or communicate with others, often by blocking the way or by distance.
Say it like a native
Textbook The heavy snowfall isolated several rural communities.
Native The snow cut off several villages.
'Cut off' is the plain verb for isolating a place; 'isolated several rural communities' reads like a headline.
Pattern: cut sb/sth off (often passive)
In use
- The village was cut off by heavy snow for several days.travel
- During the pandemic, many elderly people felt cut off from their families because they couldn't visit each other.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ The flood cut off the village from reach.
✓ The flood cut the village off. / The village was cut off.
'Cut off' takes the place directly; you don't add 'from reach'.
Common collocations
cut off + place/person— the village, completely, from the world, by the snow
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'leave out', which means to not include someone.
Related
- cut off (disconnect (phone, electricity, etc.)) — Another meaning of 'cut off' is 'disconnect (phone, electricity, etc.)'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.