cast off

verb

"cast-off" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cast off” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
8
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To discard or reject something.

Key facts for cast off
PropertyValue
Headwordcast off
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cast off” sits in English frequency

cast off falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for cast off is 8 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for cast off, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct English form is cast off, spelled C-A-S-T- -O-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    To discard or reject something.
  2. 2
    To let go (a cable or rope securing a vessel to a buoy, wharf, etc.) so that the vessel may make way.
  3. 3
    To finish the last row of knitted stitches and remove them securely from the needle.
  4. 4
    To estimate the amount of space required by the type used for the given copy.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cast off"?
"cast off" is spelled C-A-S-T- -O-F-F.
What does "cast off" mean?
As a verb, "cast off" means: To discard or reject something.
What language does "cast off" come from?
"cast off" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “cast off”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-A-S-T- -O-F-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list