off-limits

English

Adjective

off-limits (not comparable)

1. Not to be entered or used; restricted.

   The pond was off-limits to swimmers.

   • 2004, Tina Fey, Mean Girls, spoken by Gretchen Wieners (Lacey Chabert):

     Irregardless, ex-boyfriends are just off-limits to friends. I mean that's just, like, the rules of feminism.

   • 2004 October 18, “Kinmen seeks to develop six demilitarized islets”, in Taipei Times‎^[1]:

     According to Yang, the six islets have been purely military for more than five decades.
     "These islets were completely off-limits to civilians, even to Kinmen residents," Yang said.

   • 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Noveria:

     To Restricted Area
     Directions
     The restricted area is off-limits to all unauthorized personnel.

   • 2021 June 30, Tim Dunn, “How we made... Secrets of the London Underground”, in RAIL, number 934, pages 49–50:

     It was truly one of the most horrific filming experiences of my career there, contrasting neatly with some of the best of my career - filming in various off-limits storerooms at LTM's Acton Depot.

Synonyms

• out of bounds