close off

verb

"close-off" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“close 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
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To seal or block the entrance to a road, an area, or a building so that people cannot enter.

Key facts for close off
PropertyValue
Headwordclose off
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “close off” sits in English frequency

close 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 close off is 9 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. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To seal or block the entrance to a road, an area, or a building so that people cannot enter.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for close off, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is close off, spelled C-L-O-S-E- -O-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    To seal or block the entrance to a road, an area, or a building so that people cannot enter.

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 "close off"?
"close off" is spelled C-L-O-S-E- -O-F-F.
What does "close off" mean?
As a verb, "close off" means: To seal or block the entrance to a road, an area, or a building so that people cannot enter.
What language does "close off" come from?
"close off" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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 “close off”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-L-O-S-E- -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