cordon off

cordon off (third-person singular simple present cordons off, present participle cordoning off, simple past and past participle cordoned off)

1. (transitive) To protect from intrusion by enclosing in a rope or other barrier.

   Synonym: cordon

   Coordinate terms: curtain off, (rare) corral off

   A portion of the office was cordoned off during the outsiders' tour.

   The police cordoned off the street while they investigated the accident.

   • 1956 October, “Notes and News: Radioactivity at Kings Cross”, in Railway Magazine, page 711:

     Part of No. 10 platform at Kings Cross was cordoned off on August 23 after a container of radio-active material had fallen from a trolley. The special box in which it was packed split open, allowing the container to fall out.

   • 2025 February 19, Mike Lewis, “Tragedy at Moorgate”, in RAIL, number 1029, page 57, about the Moorgate tube crash:

     Moorgate itself was another story. Here, the area was humming with activity. The entire street had been cordoned off. Fire engines, police vehicles, and ambulances were coming and going, and emergency personnel were hurrying around.