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off
1[ awf, of ]
adverb
- so as to be no longer supported or attached:
This button is about to come off.
- so as to be no longer covering or enclosing: to take the wrapping off.
to take a hat off;
to take the wrapping off.
- away from a place: to look off toward the west.
to run off;
to look off toward the west.
- away from a path, course, etc.; aside:
This road branches off to Grove City.
- so as to be away or on one's way: to cast off.
to start off early;
to cast off.
- away from what is considered normal, regular, standard, or the like:
to go off on a tangent.
- from a charge or price:
He took 10 percent off for all cash purchases.
- at a distance in space or future time: Summer is only a week off.
to back off a few feet;
Summer is only a week off.
- out of operation or effective existence:
Turn the lights off.
- into operation or action:
The alarm goes off at noon.
- so as to interrupt continuity or cause discontinuance:
Negotiations have been broken off.
- in absence from work, service, a job, etc.:
two days off at Christmas.
to kill off all the inhabitants.
- with prompt or ready performance:
to dash a letter off.
- to fulfillment, or into execution or effect:
The contest came off on the appointed day.
- into nonexistence or nothingness:
My headache passed off soon.
- so as to be delineated, divided, or apportioned:
Mark it off into equal parts.
- away from a state of consciousness:
I must have dozed off.
- Nautical. away from the land, a ship, the wind, etc.
preposition
- so as no longer to be supported by, attached to, on, resting on, or unified with: Break a piece of bread off the loaf.
Take your feet off the table!
Break a piece of bread off the loaf.
- deviating from: off course.
off balance;
off course.
- below or less than the usual or expected level or standard: I was off my golf game.
20 percent off the marked price;
I was off my golf game.
- away, disengaged, or resting from:
to be off duty on Tuesdays.
- Informal. refraining or abstaining from; denying oneself the pleasure, company, practice, etc., of:
He's off gambling.
- away from; apart or distant from:
a village off the main road.
- leading into or away from:
an alley off 12th Street.
- not fixed on or directed toward, as the gaze, eyes, etc.:
Their eyes weren't off the king for a moment.
- Informal. from (a specified source):
I bought it off a street vendor.
- from or of, indicating material or component parts:
to lunch off cheese and fruit.
- from or by such means or use of: living off his parents.
living off an inheritance;
living off his parents.
- Nautical. at some distance to seaward of:
off Cape Hatteras.
adjective
- in error; wrong:
You are off on that point.
- slightly abnormal or not quite sane:
He is a little off, but he's really harmless.
- not up to standard; not so good or satisfactory as usual; inferior or subnormal:
a good play full of off moments.
- no longer in effect, in operation, or in process:
The agreement is off.
- stopped from flowing, as by the closing of a valve:
The electricity is off.
- in a specified state, circumstance, etc.:
to be badly off for money.
- (of time) free from work or duty; nonworking:
a pastime for one's off hours.
- not working at one's usual occupation:
We're off Wednesdays during the summer.
- of less than the ordinary activity, liveliness, or lively interest; slack:
an off season in the tourist trade.
on the off chance that we'd find her at home.
- more distant; farther:
the off side of a wall.
- (of a vehicle, single animal, or pair of animals hitched side by side) of, being, or pertaining to the right as seen from the rider's or driver's viewpoint ( near ):
the off horse;
the off side.
- starting on one's way; leaving: They're off and running in the third race at Aqueduct.
I'm off to Europe on Monday.
They're off and running in the third race at Aqueduct.
- lower in price or value; down:
Stock prices were off this morning.
- Nautical. noting one of two like things that is the farther from the shore; seaward:
the off side of the ship.
- Cricket. noting or pertaining to that side of the wicket or of the field opposite that on which the batsman stands.
noun
- the state or fact of being off.
- Cricket. the off side.
verb (used without object)
- to go off or away; leave (used imperatively):
Off, and don't come back!
verb (used with object)
- Slang. to kill; slay.
verb phrase
-off
2- a suffixal use of the adverb off, forming nouns that denote competitions, especially between the finalists of earlier competitions or as a means of deciding a tie:
cookoff; playoff; runoff.
off.
3abbreviation for
- offered.
- office.
- officer.
- official.
off
/ ɒf /
preposition
- used to indicate actions in which contact is absent or rendered absent, as between an object and a surface
to lift a cup off the table
- used to indicate the removal of something that is or has been appended to or in association with something else
to take the tax off potatoes
- out of alignment with
we are off course
- situated near to or leading away from
just off the High Street
- not inclined towards
I've gone off you
I'm off work
adverb
- particle so as to be deactivated or disengaged
turn off the radio
- particle
- so as to get rid of
sleep off a hangover
- so as to be removed from, esp as a reduction
he took ten per cent off
- spent away from work or other duties
take the afternoon off
- on a trip, journey, or race
I saw her off at the station
- particle so as to be completely absent, used up, or exhausted
this stuff kills off all vermin
- out from the shore or land
the ship stood off
- out of contact; at a distance
the ship was 10 miles off
- out of the present location
the girl ran off
- away in the future
August is less than a week off
- particle so as to be no longer taking place
the match has been rained off
- particle removed from contact with something, as clothing from the body
the girl took all her clothes off
- offstage
noises off
- commerce (used with a preceding number) indicating the number of items required or produced
please supply 100 off
- off and on or on and offoccasionally; intermittently
he comes here off and on
- off withinterjection a command, often peremptory, or an exhortation to remove or cut off (something specified)
off with that coat, my dear
off with his head
adjective
- not on; no longer operative
the off position on the dial
- postpositive not or no longer taking place; cancelled or postponed
the meeting is off
- in a specified condition regarding money, provisions, etc
how are you off for bread?
well off
- unsatisfactory or disappointing
his performance was rather off
an off year for good tennis
- postpositive in a condition as specified
I'd be better off without this job
- postpositive no longer on the menu; not being served at the moment
sorry, love, haddock is off
- postpositive (of food or drink) having gone bad, sour, etc
this milk is off
noun
- cricket
- the part of the field on that side of the pitch to which the batsman presents his bat when taking strike: thus for a right-hander, off is on the right-hand side Compare leg
- in combination a fielding position in this part of the field
mid-off
- ( as modifier )
the off stump
verb
- tr to kill (someone)
Usage Note
Usage
Word History and Origins
Origin of off1
Idioms and Phrases
- off and on,
- Also on and off. with intervals between; intermittently:
to work off and on.
- Nautical. on alternate tacks.
- off of, Informal. off:
Take your feet off of the table!
- off with,
- take away; remove:
Off with those muddy boots before you step into this kitchen!
- cut off:
Off with his head!
- get it off. get 1( def 54 ).
More idioms and phrases containing off
- back off
- bad off
- beat off
- beat the pants off
- beg off
- be off
- better off
- bite off more than one can chew
- bite someone's head off
- blast off
- blow off
- blow off steam
- blow the lid off
- bore to death (the pants off)
- branch off
- break off
- bring off
- browned off
- brush off
- bug off
- bump off
- burn off
- buy off
- buzz off
- call off
- cap it all (off)
- carry off
- cart off
- cast off
- change off
- charge off
- check off
- cheesed off
- chip off the old block
- choke off
- clear out (off)
- come off
- come off it
- cool down (off)
- cool off
- count off
- cry off
- cut off
- cut off one's nose
- dash off
- day off
- die off
- doze off
- drop off
- dust off
- ease off
- easy as pie (rolling off a log)
- fall away (off)
- fat of the land, live off the
- fight off
- fire off
- first off
- fish or cut bait (shit or get off)
- fly off the handle
- fob off
- fuck off
- get off
- get off on
- get off one's tail
- get off the dime
- get off the ground
- give off
- give the shirt off one's back
- go off
- go off the deep end
- goof off
- hands off
- hats off to
- haul off
- have it (off)
- head off
- high off the hog
- hit it off
- hold off
- hot off the press
- jerk off
- jumping-off place
- keep off
- kick off
- kill off
- kiss off
- knock it off
- knock off
- knock someone's block off
- knock the socks off
- laugh off
- lay off
- lead off
- leave off
- let off
- level off
- lift off
- like a chicken with its head cut off
- like water off a duck's back
- load off one's mind
- log in (off)
- make off
- mouth off
- nod off
- no skin off one's nose
- on (off) camera
- on (off) duty
- on the (off) chance
- pack off
- pair off
- palm off
- pants off
- pass off
- pay off
- peel off
- pick off
- piss off
- play off
- polish off
- pull off
- push off
- put off
- put someone off
- quick off the mark
- rake off
- rattle off
- right away (off)
- rip off
- round off
- rub off
- run away (off)
- run off
- run off at the mouth
- run off with
- rush off one's feet
- seal off
- see someone off
- sell off
- send off
- set off
- shake off
- shoot off one's mouth
- show off
- shrug off
- sign off
- slack off
- slip out (off)
- sound off
- spin off
- split one's sides (laugh one's head off)
- sponge on (off)
- square off
- squeeze off
- stand off
- stave off
- stop off
- straight off
- swear off
- switch on (off)
- tail off
- take off
- take off after
- take the edge off
- take up where one left off
- talk someone's arm off
- taper off
- tear off
- tee off
- tell off
- tell someone where to get off
- throw off
- trade off
- wipe off the map
Example Sentences
Although the blood-spattered offices will be off-limits, staff have vowed to continue producing the magazine.
A passing off-duty school safety officer named Fred Lucas said that he had been told the man was a drug dealer.
The NOPD fired Knight in 1973 for stealing lumber from a construction site as an off-duty cop.
The off-year special election into which Duke threw himself drew little media notice at first.
Aaron Paul may play a young Han Solo in the first Star Wars spin-off.
A far-off volley rumbled over the plain, and a few birds stirred uneasily among the trees.
Jean was to be an architect—God knows why—but Aristide settled it, definitely, off-hand.
In favorable parts of the trail he must do better than that, to off-set losses of time where the going was most difficult.
There was something about the man that Matt liked, in spite of the deceit he had practised at the start-off of their acquaintance.
She did not take the broad, beaten road which led to the far-off plantation of Valmonde.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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