cut off vs separate

cut off

verb
  • To isolate or remove from contact. 

  • To remove via cutting. 

  • To turn off or switch off (an electrical device). 

  • (North American) swerve in front of (another car) while driving; cut [someone] up 

  • To interrupt (someone speaking). 

  • To end abruptly. 

  • To stop providing funds to (someone). 

  • To stop the provision or supply of something, e.g. power, water. 

separate

verb
  • To disunite from a group or mass; to disconnect. 

  • To divide (a thing) into separate parts. 

  • To cause (things or people) to be separate. 

  • To divide itself into separate pieces or substances. 

noun
  • A printing of an article from a periodical as its own distinct publication and distributed independently, often with different page numbers. 

  • Anything that is sold by itself, especially articles of clothing such as blouses, skirts, jackets, and pants. 

adj
  • Apart from (the rest); not connected to or attached to (anything else). 

  • Not together (with); not united (to). 

How often have the words cut off and separate occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )