Cardi B is a single woman once again, ending things with her estranged husband, Offset ... breaking the news days after she unfollowed him on social media and talked about losing "dead weight."

Cardi went live on Instagram to set the record straight Sunday night -- telling fans she's been single "for a minute now" ... admitting she wasn't sure how to share the bombshell piece of info.

Cardi went on to say she's been wanting to fill folks in for some time -- and as recently as last week -- but says she wants to start the new year "fresh" and "open."

The news might not come as a shock to some ... as we reported, Cardi and Offset unfollowed each other sometime last week, and she posted a message about outgrowing relationships -- adding, "I GOTTA PUT MYSELF FIRST!"

She also told her fans she wants to drop all "dead weight" in her life in 2024 ... another shot at Offset.

The 2 got married back in 2017, but she filed for divorce in 2020 due to cheating allegations ... but she eventually withdrew. They've also got 2 kids together -- 5-year-old Kulture and 2-year-old Wave.

Offset alluded to the idea earlier this year that Cardi might've cheated on him, which she denied ... but that sparked a bit of an online battle between them, until they eventually made up.