oft
Americanadverb
abbreviation
adverb
Etymology
Origin of oft
before 900; Middle English oft ( e ), Old English oft; cognate with Old Frisian ofta, Old Saxon oft ( o ), German oft, Old Norse opt
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It has been oft noted by commentators who excel at statements of the obvious that Berkshire has enough cash to buy many of the world’s most-admired companies.
From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026
Do this, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me.
From BBC • May 5, 2023
That’s partly why its new Space Launch System, built by Boeing and Northrup Grumman, was oft delayed and over budget.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2023
A mountain man talk talks about surviving the outdoors in an ad that stars singer Sarah McLachlan spoofing her well-known and oft mocked animal-advocacy ad that uses her song “Angel.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 7, 2023
He doth not yet know that he must someday die; which oft is the key to immortality.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
