Definition

1. Verb:

   • To turn off, to switch off: To stop the operation of a device, machine, or light by cutting off its power source.
   • To go out, to die out: For a light, fire, or flame to stop burning or shining on its own.
   • To stop, to cease: For a process, sound, or activity to come to an end.

2. Adjective:

   • Short, abbreviated: Describing a shortened form of a word or phrase, or a quicker, more direct path.

Usage Examples

• Verb:

  • Hãy tắt đèn trước khi rời phòng. (Please turn off the light before leaving the room.)
  • Ngọn nến đã tắt. (The candle has gone out.)
  • Cơn mưa đột nhiên tắt. (The rain suddenly stopped.)

• Adjective:

  • "TV" là từ viết tắt của "television". ("TV" is the abbreviated form of "television.")
  • Chúng tôi đi tắt qua công viên. (We took a shortcut through the park.)

Advanced Usage

• "tắt thở": to stop breathing, to die.

  • Bệnh nhân đã tắt thở lúc nửa đêm. (The patient stopped breathing at midnight.)

• "tắt máy": to turn off an engine or a machine; to shut down a computer.

  • Lái xe phải tắt máy khi đổ xăng. (Drivers must turn off the engine when refueling.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tắt điện (v): to cut the electricity, to have a power cut.

  • Khu này thường tắt điện vào mùa hè. (This area often has power cuts in the summer.)

• Viết tắt (v): to abbreviate.

  • Tên tổ chức này thường được viết tắt. (This organization's name is often abbreviated.)

Synonyms

• Turn off / Switch off: To stop a device from operating.
• Extinguish: To put out a fire.
• Cease: To come to an end.
• Abbreviated: Shortened.

Related Idioms

• Đầu tắt mặt tối: Literally "head off, face dark"; to be extremely busy, overwhelmed with work.

  • Mẹ tôi luôn đầu tắt mặt tối với công việc và gia đình. (My mother is always overwhelmed with work and family.)

• Tắt đèn nhà ngói cũng như nhà tranh: Literally "when the lights are off, a tiled house is just like a thatched house"; in the dark, all distinctions are lost. Similar to "all cats are grey in the dark."

verb

1. to die out, to be out, to be extinct to extinguish, to put out to switch off, to turn off

adj

1. short