off

alternative English Scotland US regional offn

1. not comparableIn a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.

   He drove off in a cloud of smoke.

   3 more examples

   No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or[…]. And at last I began to realize in my harassed soul that all elusion was futile, and to take such holidays as I could get, when he was off with a girl, in a spirit of thankfulness.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46

   So this was my future home, I thought![…]Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.

   1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC

   The Conception caught fire around 3:14 a.m. on Labor Day off Santa Cruz Island, about 20 miles away from the coast of mainland California. It was the last day of a three-day diving trip.

   2019 September 27, Paul Vercammen, Steve Almasy, “ATF still looking to determine what caused deadly fire on California dive boat”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Oct 2019

2. not comparableInto a state of non-operation or non-existence.

   The dinosaurs died off long ago.

   1 more example

   Please switch off the light when you leave.

3. not comparableSo as to remove or separate, or be removed or separated.

   Some branches were sawn off.

   3 more examples

   He bit off the end of the carrot.

   Please take your clothes off so that I can examine you.

   The space had been sectioned off with colorful plastic shelves so that her textbooks rested on the bottom and her binders and personal effects lay across the middle.

   2010, Jo Whittemore, Front Page Face-Off, page 113

4. not comparableSpecifying the number of some item in bills, parts lists, etc.

   3 off 20 amp fuses

5. not comparableentertainmentOffstage.

   noises off

6. not comparableUsed in various other ways specific to individual idiomatic phrases, e.g. bring off, show off, put off, tell off, etc. See the entry for the individual phrase.

comparative more off · superlative most off · alternative English Scotland US regional offn

1. predicativeInoperative, disabled.

   All the lights are off.

   Antonyms: on

2. predicativeCancelled; not happening.

   The party's off because the hostess is sick.

3. Not fitted; not being worn.

   Your feet will feel better once those tight boots are off.

   1 more example

   The drink spilled out of the bottle because the top was off.

4. Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.
   1. Not correct; not properly formed; not logical, harmonious, etc.

      This calculation is off: the numbers don't add up.

      2 more examples

      Is it right to say 'the amount of cars'? It sounds off to me.

      The guitar isn't tuned properly. The bottom E is off.

   2. predicativeInappropriate; untoward.

      I felt that his comments were a bit off.

   3. Less than normal, in temperament or in result.

      sales are off this quarter

   4. Designating a time when one is not performing to the best of one's abilities.
   5. UKRancid, rotten, gone bad.

      This milk is off!

      Antonyms: fresh

   6. AustraliabroadlyslangDisgusting, repulsive, abhorrent.
5. usually'poorly off'; 'comfortably off'; and in 'how?' questions; 'poorly off'; 'comfortably off'; and in 'how?' questionsCircumstanced.

   Our family used to be well off; now we're very badly off.

   2 more examples

   How are you off for milk? Shall I get you some more from the shop?

   'Are you better off now than you were four years ago?' With that pointed question, Ronald Reagan defined the 1980 presidential election as a 92 referendum on Jimmy Carter's economic policies

   2008, Kiron K. Skinner with Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Serhiy Kudelia, The Strategy of Campaigning

6. Started on the way.

   off to see the wizard

   5 more examples

   And they're off! Whatsmyname takes an early lead, with Remember The Mane behind by a nose.

   For some reason they were annoyed by the presence of the deity and told him to be off; and as he did not take himself off fast enough to please them, they beat him with their pestles.

   1918, James George Frazer, Folk-Lore In The Old Testament, volume 1, page 60

   —Hello, Bloom. Where are you off to? —Hello, M’Coy. Nowhere in particular.

   1922, James Joyce, chapter V, in Ulysses

   "But I'm off, Mr. Malone. We sit once a week and have done for four years without a break. Eight o'clock Thursdays."

   1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019

   Let them glimpse a green man coming at them with intent, and they're off like a bride's nighty. Even after capture some of them will seize every attempt to suicide — they just can't live with the tremendous loss of face.

   1990, Peter Pinney, The glass cannon: a Bougainville diary, 1944-45

7. Far; off to the side.

   He took me down the corridor and into an off room.

   2 more examples

   the off horse or ox in a team, in distinction from the nigh or near horse

   He came in, took a look and squinched down into a chair in an off corner and didn’t open his mouth.

   1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Harper Perennial, published 2000, page 151

8. Temporarily not attending a usual place, such as work or school, especially owing to illness or holiday.

   John's off today. He's back on Wednesday.

9. Designating a time when one is not strictly attentive to business or affairs, or is absent from a post, and, hence, a time when affairs are not urgent.

   He took an off day for fishing.  an off year in politics; the off season

10. predicativePresently unavailable. (of a dish on a menu)

    I'll have the chicken please. — Sorry, chicken's off today.

11. UKOn the side furthest from the kerb (the right-hand side if one drives on the left).

    The off front wheel came loose.

    1 more example

    The man and the horse came closer and were Sonny Jacobs of the Diamond Six and a smallish neat sorrel definitely favouring its off forefoot.

    1963, Jack Schaefer, Monte Walsh, page 174

    Antonyms: near, nigh

12. ball gamesIn, or towards the half of the field away from the batsman's legs; the right side for a right-handed batsman.

    Antonyms: on, leg

13. slangcard gamesOffsuit.

alternative English Scotland US regional offn

1. Not positioned upon; away from a position upon.

   Keep off the grass.

   2 more examples

   He's off the roof now.

   I took it off the table.

2. Detached, separated, excluded or disconnected from; away from a position of attachment or connection to.

   We're off their radar.

   5 more examples

   The phone is off the hook

   The coat fell off the peg.

   He was thrown off the team for cheating.

   We've been off the grid for three days now.

   He's off the computer, but he's still on the phone.

3. Outside the area or region of.

   The suspect is now believed to be off the campus.

   1 more example

   I couldn't see what it said because the line of text ran off the page.

4. Temporarily not attending (a usual place), especially owing to illness or holiday.

   off work; off school

5. Used to indicate the location or direction of one thing relative to another, implying adjacency or accessibility via.

   We're just off the main road.

   2 more examples

   His office is off this corridor on the right.

   Look! There's a UFO off our left wing!

   1. Used to express location at sea relative to land or mainland.

      The island is 23 miles off the cape.

   2. Used to indicate separation from a natural home or origin.

      He used to be gone a lot of the time, off working on an oil rig.

6. Removed or subtracted from.

   There's 20% off the list price.

7. No longer wanting or taking.

   He's off his meds again.

   1 more example

   He's been off his feed since Tuesday.

8. colloquialmore properly 'from'Out of the possession of.

   He didn't buy it off him. He stole it off him.

9. Placed after a number (of products or parts, as if a unit), in commerce or engineering.

   I'd like to re-order those printer cartridges, let's say 5-off.

   2 more examples

   Tantalum bar 6 off 3/8" Dia × 12" — Atom, Great Britain Atomic Energy Authority, 1972

   samples submitted … 12 off Thermistors type 1K3A531 … — BSI test report for shock and vibration testing, 2000

10. slangdrugsUnder the influence of.

    The guy was off a perc.

11. informalAs a result of; resulting from the actions of.

    Smith hit a home-run off the pitcher.

    2 more examples

    The team won off a late-game fumble by an opposing player.

    The economy is rising off the strength of the tech sector.

present singular third person offs · participle present offing · participle past offed · past offed · alternative English Scotland US regional offn

1. slangtransitiveTo kill.

   Most sorely missed is the relationship between Eggsy and Colin Firth’s delightfully avuncular mentor figure Harry Hart, who was offed, seemingly definitively with a bullet to the brain towards its end.

   2017 September 19, Gwilym Mumford, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle review – spy sequel reaches new heights of skyscraping silliness”, in the Guardian

2. NigeriaPhilippinesSingaporetransitiveTo switch off.

   Can you off the light?

alternative English Scotland US regional offn

1. uncountableusuallyusually in phrases such as 'from the off'; 'at the off'; usually in phrases such as 'from the off'; 'at the off'Beginning; starting point.

   He has been very obviously an untrustworthy narrator right from the off.

   1 more example

   2023 Royal Ascot suit ... are you ready for the off?(title)

   2022 December 1, “2023 Royal Ascot suit ... are you ready for the off?”, in anthonyformalwear.co.uk, archived from the original on 24 Jan 2022