off

¹

[awf, of]

adverb

1. so as to be no longer supported or attached.

   This button is about to come off.

2. so as to be no longer covering or enclosing: to take the wrapping off.

   to take a hat off;

   to take the wrapping off.

3. away from a place: to look off toward the west.

   to run off;

   to look off toward the west.

4. away from a path, course, etc.; aside.

   This road branches off to Grove City.

5. so as to be away or on one's way: to cast off.

   to start off early;

   to cast off.

6. away from what is considered normal, regular, standard, or the like.

   to go off on a tangent.

7. from a charge or price.

   He took 10 percent off for all cash purchases.

8. 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.

9. out of operation or effective existence.

   Turn the lights off.

10. into operation or action.

    The alarm goes off at noon.

11. so as to interrupt continuity or cause discontinuance.

    Negotiations have been broken off.

12. in absence from work, service, a job, etc..

    two days off at Christmas.

13. completely; utterly.

    to kill off all the inhabitants.

14. with prompt or ready performance.

    to dash a letter off.

15. to fulfillment, or into execution or effect.

    The contest came off on the appointed day.

16. into nonexistence or nothingness.

    My headache passed off soon.

17. so as to be delineated, divided, or apportioned.

    Mark it off into equal parts.

18. away from a state of consciousness.

    I must have dozed off.

19. Nautical.,  away from the land, a ship, the wind, etc.

preposition

1. 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.

2. deviating from: off course.

   off balance;

   off course.

3. 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.

4. away, disengaged, or resting from.

   to be off duty on Tuesdays.

5. Informal.,  refraining or abstaining from; denying oneself the pleasure, company, practice, etc., of.

   He's off gambling.

6. away from; apart or distant from.

   a village off the main road.

7. leading into or away from.

   an alley off 12th Street.

8. not fixed on or directed toward, as the gaze, eyes, etc..

   Their eyes weren't off the king for a moment.

9. Informal.,  from (a specified source).

   I bought it off a street vendor.

10. from or of, indicating material or component parts.

    to lunch off cheese and fruit.

11. from or by such means or use of: living off his parents.

    living off an inheritance;

    living off his parents.

12. Nautical.,  at some distance to seaward of.

    off Cape Hatteras.

adjective

1. in error; wrong.

   You are off on that point.

2. slightly abnormal or not quite sane.

   He is a little off, but he's really harmless.

3. not up to standard; not so good or satisfactory as usual; inferior or subnormal.

   a good play full of off moments.

4. no longer in effect, in operation, or in process.

   The agreement is off.

5. stopped from flowing, as by the closing of a valve.

   The electricity is off.

6. in a specified state, circumstance, etc..

   to be badly off for money.

7. (of time) free from work or duty; nonworking.

   a pastime for one's off hours.

8. not working at one's usual occupation.

   We're off Wednesdays during the summer.

9. of less than the ordinary activity, liveliness, or lively interest; slack.

   an off season in the tourist trade.

10. unlikely; remote; improbable.

    on the off chance that we'd find her at home.

11. more distant; farther.

    the off side of a wall.

12. (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.

13. 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.

14. lower in price or value; down.

    Stock prices were off this morning.

15. Nautical.,  noting one of two like things that is the farther from the shore; seaward.

    the off side of the ship.

16. Cricket.,  noting or pertaining to that side of the wicket or of the field opposite that on which the batsman stands.

noun

1. the state or fact of being off.

2. Cricket.,  the off side.

verb (used without object)

1. to go off or away; leave (used imperatively).

   Off, and don't come back!

verb (used with object)

1. Slang.,  to kill; slay.

verb phrase

1. get off on.,  get.

-off

²

1. 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.

³

abbreviation

1. offered.

2. office.

3. officer.

4. official.

off

/ ɒf /

preposition

1. 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

2. 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

3. out of alignment with

   we are off course

4. situated near to or leading away from

   just off the High Street

5. not inclined towards

   I'm off work

   I've gone off you

adverb

1. (particle) so as to be deactivated or disengaged

   turn off the radio

2. (particle)

   1. so as to get rid of

      sleep off a hangover

   2. so as to be removed from, esp as a reduction

      he took ten per cent off

3. spent away from work or other duties

   take the afternoon off

4. 1. on a trip, journey, or race

      I saw her off at the station

   2. (particle) so as to be completely absent, used up, or exhausted

      this stuff kills off all vermin

5. out from the shore or land

   the ship stood off

6. 1. out of contact; at a distance

      the ship was 10 miles off

   2. out of the present location

      the girl ran off

7. away in the future

   August is less than a week off

8. (particle) so as to be no longer taking place

   the match has been rained off

9. (particle) removed from contact with something, as clothing from the body

   the girl took all her clothes off

10. offstage

    noises off

11. commerce (used with a preceding number) indicating the number of items required or produced

    please supply 100 off

12. occasionally; intermittently

    he comes here off and on

13. (interjection) a command, often peremptory, or an exhortation to remove or cut off (something specified)

    off with his head

    off with that coat, my dear

adjective

1. not on; no longer operative

   the off position on the dial

2. (postpositive) not or no longer taking place; cancelled or postponed

   the meeting is off

3. in a specified condition regarding money, provisions, etc

   well off

   how are you off for bread?

4. unsatisfactory or disappointing

   his performance was rather off

   an off year for good tennis

5. (postpositive) in a condition as specified

   I'd be better off without this job

6. (postpositive) no longer on the menu; not being served at the moment

   sorry, love, haddock is off

7. (postpositive) (of food or drink) having gone bad, sour, etc

   this milk is off

noun

1. cricket

   1. 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

   2. (in combination) a fielding position in this part of the field

      mid-off

   3. ( as modifier )

      the off stump

verb

1. (tr) to kill (someone)

Usage

The phrasal preposition off of is old in English, going back to the 16th century. Although usage guides reject it as redundant, recommending off without of, the phrase is widespread in speech, including that of the educated: Let's watch as the presidential candidates come off of the rostrum and down into the audience. Off of is rare in edited writing except to give the flavor of speech.

In standard English, off is not followed by of: he stepped off (not off of ) the platform

Word History and Origins

Origin of off¹

Originally a stressed variant of of ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of off¹

originally variant of _of ; fully distinguished from it in the 17th century

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. get it off. get.

2. off with,

   1. take away; remove.

      Off with those muddy boots before you step into this kitchen!

   2. cut off.

      Off with his head!

3. off and on,

   1. Also on and off. with intervals between; intermittently.

      to work off and on.

   2. Nautical. on alternate tacks.

4. off of, off.

   Take your feet off of the table!

More idioms and phrases containing off

• back off
• bad off
• be off
• beat off
• beat the pants off
• beg 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
• no skin off one's nose
• nod off
• 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

In another surprise move, he broke off from his speech to introduce Nadine Dorris, who defected to Reform on Thursday, to make a brief speech.

From BBC

Arsenal have always been capable of winning the title but have lacked consistency and were miles off it at the start of last year.

From BBC

When the game finally resumed, the Orioles loaded the bases with two outs, and up stepped Ripken, who hit a two-run homer off Angels pitcher Shawn Boskie in the fourth inning.

From Los Angeles Times

The Rams had traveled to Hawaii to end offseason workouts — and to kick off a drive they aim to end with another Super Bowl title.

From Los Angeles Times

Beautiful Eagle Creek sits just off Tillman Road in Statesboro, Ga., tracing the edge of the practice field at Georgia Southern University, where for more than four decades, the creek has been considered holy ground.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ahead 
• aside 
• below 
• elsewhere 
• far 
• out 
• over 

When To Use

What does -off mean?

The suffix -off is used to denote a competition, specifically a final match between two contestants. It is occasionally used in informal terms, especially in sports. In many instances, -off is separated with a hyphen, as in face-off.The form -off comes from the Middle English of, a preposition with a variety of meanings.