of
- 1Used after a word naming a part, number or amount to introduce the whole it is taken from.
Only the top of the mountain was in sunlight.
The heart of the problem is money.
UsageWith parts and positions, of is usually more natural than 's: the top of the hill, the end of the day.
Note
A noun of portion or position comes first, and the whole follows: a slice of the cake, the buried core of the outrage. The line between this use and possession is thin, since the roof of the house is both a part and a belonging. What marks this use is that the first noun measures out a piece of the whole rather than naming a separate thing.
- 2Used to show possession or belonging, the noun after it owning, having, or being characterized by the noun before it.
The lid of the pan was still hot.
The habits of the rich fascinate the poor.
UsageWith people, 's is usual (my sister's car); with things and long phrases, of is more usual: the lid of the pan.
Note
This is the possessive of, doing the work of the -'s ending: the handle of the saucepan, the door of No 10. With abstract nouns, the meaning merges with the subjective genitive.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- No 10 has a door. gov.uk
- 3Used to show what a collective or quantity noun is made up of.
A flock of geese passed over the farm.
She left a pile of papers on the desk.
UsageAfter a lot of, a number of and similar phrases, the verb usually agrees with the noun after of: a lot of people are.
Note
Collective and quantity nouns lean on of to say what they gather: a lot of nonsense, a mass of documents, a dozen of those apples. The first noun can even be a measure borrowed for effect, as when Melville's whale would run away with rope-walks of line.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Melville's Moby-Dick describes a whale that would run away with 'rope-walks of line'; the wording occurs in the narrator's discussion of the Sulphur Bottom whale. gutenberg.org
- 4Used after an agent noun, verbal noun or noun of action to name its object.
The teaching of children requires patience.
Public distrust of the press grew during the trial.
Note
The noun after of would be the object if the first noun were turned into a verb. Distrust of the police means distrusting the police, and fishers of men are people who fish for men. Agent nouns (fisher), verbal nouns (hatred) and nouns of action all take this construction. When a phrase could also be read as the subjective genitive, only context decides.
- 5Used to show a quantity, measure, age, price or rate.
The fine was set at a maximum of five thousand pounds.
Sound travels at a speed of about three hundred meters a second.
UsagePut of between a measure and its figure: a speed of 100 km/h, a rise of 5%. For age: a man of 20.
Note
The dimension comes first and the figure follows: a speed of 40.0 m/s, a frequency of 2 500 Hz, a rate of 10%. Technical writing relies on the pattern because it names the quantity being measured before giving the number. With age, the dimension is left unspoken: a young man of 20, a girl of about twenty-two.
- 6Used in titles and names to link a person to the place, institution or domain they hold, belong to or come from.
The Bishop of Durham spoke first.
The captain of the ship stayed aboard until the last passenger left.
UsageUsed in titles: the Mayor of London. After was or became, the is often dropped: became captain of the team.
Note
Titles of rank and office take of with the place or body they are tied to: the Duke of Edinburgh, headmaster of the Boys' British School, the owner of the nightclub. The relation runs opposite to ordinary possession. The person holds a title, office or control linked to the place, rather than the place owning the person.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Duke of Edinburgh is an actual title named after Edinburgh. en.wikipedia.org
- The Boys' British School is an attested institution with a headmaster. en.wikisource.org
- 7Belonging to, existing in or taking place in a given place or time.
The poets of the nineteenth century often wrote about nature.
The citizens of Athens voted in the open air.
Note
Time and place both serve as the setting here: the most famous scientist of the twentieth century, the hurricane of August 1712, the rage of yesterday. The of phrase says where or when something belongs, not where it came from. That distinction separates it from the origin sense, as in Jesus of Nazareth. The citizens of New York are people who live there now.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- A hurricane occurred in August 1712. en.wikipedia.org
- Jesus was associated with Nazareth as his childhood home. en.wikipedia.org
- 8Used to link a class of things to a specific member of it.
The port of Dover handles most of the ferries.
He answered to the name of Bob.
UsageThe general word comes first, then the name: the city of Paris, the month of May, the island of Crete.
Note
Here the two nouns name the same thing: the town of Harwich is Harwich. The first noun says what kind of thing the name belongs to, and it can take adjectives of its own. Examples include the historic town of Harwich, the Baltic city of Lübeck and Defoe's rainy month of March. Places, months and personal names are its usual partners.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Harwich is a historic town. visitharwich.com
- Lübeck is a Baltic city. en.wikipedia.org
- The fragment 'rainy month of March' is attributed to Daniel Defoe in Robinson Crusoe; the passage continues 'and April'. en.wiktionary.org
- 9Used after a noun of knowledge or communication to introduce its subject matter; about.
He wrote a history of the Roman army.
There was talk of a merger between the two companies.
UsageAfter story, history, news and talk: news of the crash. Many other nouns prefer about or on: a book about birds.
Note
Nouns of knowing and telling take this of: the story of his journey, thoughts of further EU enlargement. Verbs of thinking and speaking take the same of (think of, hear of, speak of).
- 10Used to show the cause, motive or source of an action or state.
She did it of her own accord.
Her grandfather died of pneumonia last winter.
UsageCommon patterns include of her own accord, of her own free will, born of necessity and died of pneumonia.
Similarfrom
Note
Here the Old English meaning "out of, from" survives, now mostly in set phrases: born of necessity, of right, of her own free will. Malory's text, printed in 1485, still has "I requyre the of thy knyghthode", asking a knight to answer by virtue of his knighthood.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Old English of meant 'out of, from'. en.wiktionary.org
- The quotation occurs with this wording in Malory's work. en.wiktionary.org
- The passage appeals to a knight's knighthood to request an answer; the fictional speaker is Palomydes. gutenberg.org
- 11Used after a noun of action to name who or what performs it (the subjective genitive).
The decision of the court surprised everyone.
The growth of the city has swallowed three villages.
Similarby
Note
Grammarians call this the subjective genitive because the noun after of would be the subject if the phrase became a sentence: the agreement of both parties means that both parties agree. Its mirror image is the objective genitive, where that noun would be the object instead. When a phrase could be read either way, rewording with by or with a verb makes the meaning clear.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- A subjective genitive identifies the subject of the corresponding verb; both parties perform the agreeing in the example. courses.cit.cornell.edu
- An objective genitive identifies the object of the corresponding verb. en.wikipedia.org
- A possessive can retain the same ambiguity. An explicit paraphrase, such as one using by for the performer, can clarify the meaning. en.wikipedia.org
- 12From or away from a point, distance or number.
The plane crashed within sight of the runway.
Upwards of fifty people came to the meeting.
UsageCommon patterns include within + a distance + of (within a mile of the station) and upwards of + a number.
Note
Here the word keeps its oldest meaning. Old English of meant "from, out of, off" and goes back to a root meaning "away". That idea of counting away from a fixed point survives in within twenty miles of the cottage and within a mile of the White House, where of marks the point the distance is measured from. It also survives in upwards of, which counts up from a number.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- The meaning ‘from’ or ‘away from’ preserves the word’s original sense. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English of meant ‘from, out of, off’. en.wiktionary.org
- Of descends from a root meaning ‘away’. en.wiktionary.org
- 13Used after an adjective to introduce the thing it applies to, or the cause of the feeling or state it names.
Such restraint was characteristic of her whole career.
Long summers are typical of the region.
UsageAfter adjectives of feeling or judgment: afraid of, proud of, tired of, typical of the region, true of most cities.
Note
Adjectives of characterization use of to say what a statement holds true for: typical of teenagers, true of all aged sperm whales. The of phrase marks the range the judgment covers. After adjectives of feeling, such as tired of or afraid of, it names the cause instead. Characteristic of and representative of work the same way.
- 14Used after a verb or adjective of removal, absence or lack to name what is taken away or missing.
The essay is devoid of any original thought.
The valley was bare of trees after the fire.
UsageAfter adjectives like devoid, free, short and bare, and verbs like rob, clear and relieve: short of money, robbed of his savings.
Note
The same "away from" meaning can attach to an adjective that names the resulting lack: devoid of human feelings, barren of hints and matter. The noun after of always names what is missing, never what remains. After a verb, of names what is taken away, as in relieved of a burden.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- The wording “barren of hints and matter” is attested. en.wiktionary.org
Less common meanings
- 15Used to introduce the material or substance something is made from, after a verb of making or directly after a noun.
The old church was built of local stone.
Modern corks are often made of plastic.
UsageMade of suits a material you can still see (made of oak); made from suits one that has changed (paper is made from wood).
Similarfrom
- 16Used to show a quality or characteristic; characterized by.
He was a man of few words and fewer smiles.
It was a decision of great importance.
UsageOften includes a word showing amount or degree: a man of few words, a decision of great importance.
Note
A noun of quality carries the description where an adjective might otherwise go: a man of action, a man of considerable self-restraint and firmness. Calling Pooh a bear of very little brain gets its comedy from that solemn phrasing.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The literary example “a man of considerable self-restraint and firmness” is accurately worded. gutenberg.org
- Pooh is described as a “Bear of Very Little Brain.” gutenberg.org
- 17Used before a possessive pronoun or genitive noun to give a partitive sense.
That old car of Dad's finally died.
A colleague of hers recommended the book.
UsageSay a friend of mine (not
incorrect: a friend of me); also a colleague of hers, a cousin of John's.Note
Called the double possessive because of and the possessive form both appear: a friend of mine, a son of mine, this habit of Bush's. It is fully standard. Its main job is to let an article or demonstrative stand before the noun: a friend of mine works where a my friend cannot. It also signals one of several rather than the only one.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
- The construction combining of with a possessive form is called the double possessive. gutenberg.org
- 18Used to link two nouns in near-apposition, the first describing the second.
He drove a rusty coffin of a van.
She called him a great lump of a boy.
UsageNoun + of a + noun: a nightmare of a day, this fool of a girl.
Note
An emphatic, emotional construction: this wreck of a car, this fool of a girl, a bitch of a day. The first noun does the describing (the car is a wreck), and the second names the thing actually meant. The tone ranges from contempt to rough affection, as when a man in a Katherine Mansfield story warms to this fool of a girl.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- A man in a Katherine Mansfield story warms to someone described as “this fool of a girl”; the phrase appears in the narration of “A Birthday,” in In a German Pension. gutenberg.org
- 19Used to show ancestral source or origin of descent.
Our neighbor comes of an old Vermont family that has farmed the same land for generations.
She was born of a mother who sang and a father who painted.
UsageFor ancestry, use phrases such as of Irish origin, born of Irish parents, or come of an old family.
Note
Origin is where "from" naturally leads. Of … origin is the everyday formula (of Japanese origin), and born of a family of weavers expresses descent through a verb. Come of stretches the idea from ancestry to outcome: nothing may come of these ideas. Tyndale in 1526 still spells the word off when the crowd in his Acts asks whether the speakers are off galile, meaning from Galilee.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- Tyndale's complete New Testament was published in 1526. gutenberg.org
- The 1526 translation uses the spelling 'off' in 'off galile', referring to origin in Galilee. en.wiktionary.org
- The amazed crowd asks the question in Acts 2:7; Tyndale translates it. en.wikisource.org
- 20Before the hour, in telling time; to.
The train pulls out at ten of five.
She called at twenty of four, just before the meeting.
UsageTelling the time: ten of five is 4:50 and a quarter of three is 2:45, like ten to five.
Note
An American way of telling time: a quarter of three, ten of two and five of noon all name minutes before the hour. Elsewhere, to does this job (a quarter to three). The usage is not confined to speech. A 1940 Time report has a politician leaving Washington at a quarter of two in the morning.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Time published the report in 1940. content.time.com
- The report quotes a politician saying he left Washington at a quarter of two that morning, documenting the expression in writing. time.com
- 21Used to link an adjective modified by a common degree word such as too, that, or as to a following singular noun with a.
Losing the opening game isn't as big of a setback as people think.
For a team this small, six months might be too short of a deadline.
UsageIn careful writing, drop the of: that big a deal, too short a deadline.
Note
An American, informal pattern built on degree words: that big of a deal, too great of a threat, as big of a challenge. It turns up in speech and even in academic prose, but some readers and editors consider it incorrect.
- 22Used after an adjective judging behavior to name the person who acted.
It would be foolish of us to refuse the offer.
How thoughtful of the neighbors to bring soup.
UsagePattern: it's + adjective + of + person + to: kind of you to come. Compare important for you to go.
- 23Eye dialect spelling of have, chiefly in depictions of colloquial speech.
"I could of told you that," the old man muttered.
"They must of gone home already," Tommy said, peering through the window.
UsageWrite could have or could've (not
incorrect: could of); this spelling belongs in dialogue that copies speech.Note
The spelling records how an unstressed have sounds after a modal: in could've, would've and must've it is the same weak syllable as of. It usually appears in the perfect after could, would, should, must or might, and novelists such as Fitzgerald, Chandler and Neal Stephenson put it into dialogue to make speech sound casual.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Fitzgerald uses of for have in fictional dialogue. gutenberg.org
- Chandler uses of for have in fictional dialogue. en.wiktionary.org
- Neal Stephenson uses of for have in fictional dialogue. en.wiktionary.org
- Making speech sound casual is a supported interpretation of this use of eye dialect; the individual authors' intentions are inferred. en.wikipedia.org
- 24Used after a passive verb to show the agent, an old use now mostly replaced by 'by'.
The family is ordained of God.
1995, The Family: A Proclamation to the World, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsAfter a good while, the iewes toke cousell amonge themselves to kyll him. But their layinges awayte wer knowen of Saul.
1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt (Tyndale Bible)Similarby
Note
An older way of naming the doer after a passive verb, now largely replaced by by. Tyndale writes that a plot was knowen of Saul, and Florio's Montaigne has enjoyed of others. Today it survives in enamored of and in religious language such as ordained of God. In ordinary prose, use by.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Tyndale's translation says that a plot was knowen of Saul. ebible.org
- John Florio's translation of Montaigne contains enjoyed of others. hyperessays.net
- 25Links an adjective to a following noun or noun phrase to show in what respect the adjective applies, as in quick of wit or easy of access.
Though gray of hair, the senator remained sharp of mind.
He was huge, raw-boned, knotty, long of body and long of leg, with the head of a war charger.
1917, Zane Gray, WildfireNote
An old, literary pattern: an adjective, then of, then a body part or quality, as in long of leg, fleet of foot, easy of manner. Zane Grey still uses it in Wildfire (1917) for a horse long of body and long of leg. A few pairings survive in modern journalism, where they sound deliberately old-fashioned; everyday prose says long-legged or easygoing instead.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts
- Zane Grey wrote Wildfire. gutenberg.org
- Wildfire describes a horse as long of body and long of leg. gutenberg.org
- 26Introduces the topic of what someone thinks, knows, says, hears, or dreams, following the verb for that act.
He rarely spoke of the war, even to his own children.
Do you know of a quiet place to study near campus?
UsageKnow of and hear of suggest knowing that something exists: do you know of a good dentist?
Similarabout
- 27From or starting at a particular time or earlier condition.
- 28Some or a part of something, or one among a group, as in "give of your time".
And the folysshe sayde to the wyse: geve us of youre oyle, for oure lampes goo out?
1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt (Tyndale Bible) - 29On or during a particular period, now usually suggesting something happens regularly, as in coming home late of an evening.
- 30Throughout a named span of time, as in not having met of many years.
- 31Used after a noun to tell how long a state or activity lasts, as in a delay of two hours.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of of apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origins
In Old English, of meant "from, out of, off" and was the unstressed form of æf. It became Middle English of and then the modern word. The chain goes back through Proto-West Germanic *ab and Proto-Germanic *ab ("away, away from") to Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó ("away"). Off is a doublet, descended from the stressed form of the same Old English word.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 7 facts
- Old English of meant “from, out of, off”. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English of was the unstressed form of æf. en.wiktionary.org
- Modern English of descends through Middle English of from Old English of. en.wiktionary.org
- The ancestry runs through Proto-West Germanic *ab and Proto-Germanic *ab to Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó. en.wiktionary.org
- Proto-Germanic *ab meant “away” and “away from”. en.wiktionary.org
- Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó meant “away”. en.wiktionary.org
- Off is a doublet of of and descends from the stressed form of the same Old English word. en.wiktionary.org
A spelling of unstressed have (as in could've), which sounds like the preposition of.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Of is a spelling of reduced have or ’ve, as in could’ve. en.wiktionary.org
- Reduced have sounds identical to the weak form of the preposition of. morph.surrey.ac.uk