Meaning trap
cut off
isolate (separate from others or from help)
To make someone or something unable to reach or communicate with others, often by blocking the way or by distance.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
To make someone or something unable to reach or communicate with others, often by blocking the way or by distance.
Another meaning of 'cut off' is 'disconnect (phone, electricity, etc.)'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
- 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
Fix the pattern
Pattern: cut sb/sth off (often passive)
WrongThe storm cut off us for three days.
RightThe storm cut us off for three days.
With a pronoun, the object goes in the middle: 'cut us off'.
Patterncut sb/sth off (often passive)
Use it right
Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.
'Cut off' is the plain verb for isolating a place; 'isolated several rural communities' reads like a headline.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
cut off + place/personthe villagecompletelyfrom the worldby 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.