off

AWF/ɔf/UKOF/ɒf/

34 meanings of off

1
removedadverb
So as to remove, separate or come away, often placed after the object.
The gardener cut the dead branches off and stacked them by the shed.
She wiped the dust off before she sat down.
UsageWith a noun, either order: take off your coat or take your coat off; with a pronoun, take it off (not ~~incorrect: take off it~~).
Similaraway
2
preposition
Not on, moved away from, or outside the limits of a surface, place, or area.
Keep your muddy boots off the sofa, please.
The cat jumped off the wall.
UsageYou get off a bus, train or bike, but get out of a car or taxi.
Oppositeon, onto
3
adverb
Away, in a direction leading from the speaker or from some point of reference.
She waved and walked off down the street.
The ship sailed off toward the horizon at dawn.
Similaraway
Note
The core meaning, and the one the word's history points straight at: Old English of, af, æf meant "from, off, away," from a root meaning "from, off, back." Off and of are doublets, one word that split into two spellings with separate jobs. The adverb can also mark a fixed position rather than motion. Hills stretching off to the southwest are not going anywhere.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
Off descends from Old English of, af, æf, meaning ‘from, off, away’. en.wiktionary.org
The ultimate ancestral root meant ‘from, off, back’. en.wiktionary.org
Off and of are doublets descended from the same Old English word, with differentiated forms and functions. en.wiktionary.org
4
adverb
Into a state of not operating or not existing.
Turn the engine off before you refuel.
Whole species died off when the climate changed.
UsageSay turn off or switch off a light or machine (not ~~incorrect: close the light~~).
Similarout
Oppositeon
5
preposition
Detached, separated or disconnected from something, or excluded from a group.
The handle snapped off my favorite mug while I was washing it.
A button had come off his coat.
Oppositeon
6
adjectivenot before a noun
Of a light, machine, or supply, not switched on, operating, or running.
The engine's off but the radio is still playing.
Why is the water off this morning?
UsageAfter be or leave: the engine's off, leave the lights off. For the action, use turn off.
Oppositeon
7
minus (amount)preposition
Subtracted or removed from an amount, especially a price.
The store knocked fifty dollars off the sofa.
He had a month taken off his sentence for good behavior.
8
preposition
Leading from, or lying near and reached from, something else.
The bathroom is off the hall, second door.
They live in a quiet cul-de-sac just off the main road.
UsageOften just off + a road or room: just off the main road, a bathroom off the hall.
9
at seapreposition
At sea, at a stated or implied distance from a coast, headland, or mainland.
A tanker was anchored two miles off the harbor.
The wreck lies off Cornwall in shallow water.
UsageUsually with a place or distance: off the coast, two miles off the harbor, off Cornwall.
10
slow seasonadjective
Of a time, not spent on business or duty, or when things are quiet.
The hotel closes for the off season.
Even in an off year the campaign spent millions.
UsageBefore a noun (the off season, an off year) or after a time word (a day off, take time off).
Similarlow, slack, quiet
Oppositepeak, high, busy
11
because ofprepositioncolloquial
As a result of; on the strength of.
She made her name off a single viral video.
The singer landed a record deal off the back of one hit song.
UsageOften in off the back of: a record deal off the back of one hit song.
Similarfrom
12
adjective
Started on one's way; departed or departing.
We're off to the coast for the weekend.
Right, I'm off now, and I'll see you tomorrow.
UsageWith be: I'm off, we're off to the coast. Ask Where are you off to?
Note
Add to and it points at a destination: where are you off to? Joyce's Bloom answers that question in Ulysses with "Nowhere in particular." On its own, the phrase simply means leaving now.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
James Joyce wrote Ulysses. gutenberg.org
Bloom answers 'Where are you off to?' with 'Nowhere in particular.' gutenberg.org
13
seems wrongadjective
Not correct or not as it should be.
Something about his story seemed off, so I asked a few more questions.
The colors are slightly off in the print.
UsageOften with seem, feel or look: something seemed off, slightly off.
Similarwrong, inaccurate, incorrect
Oppositeright, correct, accurate
14
adjective
Circumstanced or provided for, especially with money, used after words like well, badly, or better, or with how.
They're comfortably off now that the house is paid for.
Her parents are quite well off, but they live very simply.
UsageFollowed by for + noun to talk about supply: badly off for staff, how are you off for time?
Note
Ronald Reagan's 1980 challenge, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?", shows the comparative doing political work.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Ronald Reagan posed the challenge in 1980. reaganfoundation.org

Less common meanings

15
away from workadjective
Absent for a time from work, school, or another usual place, especially through illness or leave.
She is off until Monday, but I can take a message for her.
Two of the nurses are off sick this week.
Similaraway, absent, out
Oppositein, present
16
canceledadjectivenot before a noun
Canceled and not going ahead, as a party, deal, or wedding may be.
The wedding's off now that she has given back the ring.
Is the picnic still on? No, it's off.
UsageThe verb for this is call off: they called the wedding off, so the wedding's off.
Similarcanceled
Oppositeon
17
inappropriateadjectivenot before a noun
Inappropriate, out of order, or not quite the done thing.
Turning up late to her own party was a bit off.
I thought it was a bit off that he read her messages without asking.
UsageOften in a bit off: that was a bit off, a mild way to call something rude or unfair.
Similarinappropriate, unacceptable, rude
Oppositeappropriate, acceptable
18
adjective
Below the usual level or standard, in performance, results, or mood, as in an off day.
Attendance was off by a third after the price rise.
I've been a little off since the news.
UsageOff by + an amount for a fall: sales were off by a third.
Similardown
Oppositeup
19
adjectiveUK
Of food or drink, gone bad or rancid and no longer fit to consume.
The cream was off, so I threw it away.
Don't eat that, it's been off for days.
UsageUsually after a verb: the milk is off, the milk has gone off. In a restaurant, off can mean unavailable rather than spoiled.
Similarbad, sour, rancid, spoiled
Oppositefresh
Note
A British kitchen word: milk, cream or meat that is off has turned and belongs in the bin.
20
prepositioncolloquial
Out of the possession of someone, as when getting, buying, or taking something from them.
She bought her first car off an uncle who was moving overseas.
Some kid at the park tried to grab my phone off me.
UsageIn formal writing, prefer from: bought it from a neighbor. In conversation, got it off my brother is natural.
Similarfrom
21
adjective
Lying to the side, away from the center or the usual path.
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
He took me down the corridor and into an off room.
Note
An adjective that stands before its noun: an off room, an off corner, the off horse. In a team of horses or oxen, the off animal is set against the nigh or near one. Zora Neale Hurston's man squinches into a chair in an off corner, tucked away from the middle of things. The vehicle's off side keeps that same pairing.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
In a team of horses or oxen, off contrasts with nigh or near. en.wiktionary.org
Hurston describes a man squinching into a chair in an off corner; this is narration in Their Eyes Were Watching God. fadedpage.com
For a vehicle's off side, the contrasting terms are also near and nigh. en.wiktionary.org
22
no longer takingpreposition
No longer taking, wanting or using something one usually takes.
He's off his meds again and it shows.
I've been off sugar for a month.
UsageUsually with be, go or stay: go off caffeine, stay off alcohol.
Oppositeon
23
preposition
Not attending a usual place for a time, usually because of illness or holiday.
She's been off work since the accident.
Are you off school tomorrow for the holiday?
UsageWith no article: off work, off school.
24
adjective
Not being worn, or not fitted in place.
Shoes off, please, the floor's just been cleaned.
The cap was off and the pen had dried out.
UsageOpposite of on: shoes off, with his hat off. The verb is take off.
Oppositeon
25
verbslangtransitive
To kill someone.
Somebody offed the accountant before the trial.
He'd off his own brother for that kind of money.
UsageRegular forms: offs, offed, offing. Casual and cold in tone, so keep it out of serious or sympathetic talk.
Similarkill, murder, whack, waste
Note
Slang that turns a particle into a transitive verb, and it inflects regularly: offs, offing, offed. A 2017 review of Kingsman: The Golden Circle says a beloved mentor was offed with a bullet to the brain, which is just the breezy distance the word gives.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The 2017 review contains the reported wording. theguardian.com
26
sold out (menu)adjectivenot before a noun
Of a dish on a menu, not available at the moment because sold out or not being served.
The waiter said the fish was off, so I had the lamb.
Half the specials were off by nine o'clock.
Similarunavailable
Oppositeavailable
Note
Restaurant shorthand, spoken by the staff rather than the diner. Chicken's off means the kitchen has none left, not that anything is wrong with it.
27
adverb
In the theater, offstage or out of the audience's view.
Similaroffstage
Oppositeonstage
Note
A stage direction more than an everyday word: in a script it places a sound or a voice in the wings, out of the audience's sight. The fixed phrase noises off names such sounds. The adverb can follow a verb directly, as in thunder is heard off, without saying what it is off. Outside the theater, speakers spell it out as offstage.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The theatrical adverb off means offstage. en.wiktionary.org
Noises off denotes sounds produced offstage. colorado.edu
A stage direction can use thunder is heard off without a following complement. playsmagazine.com
28
high on (drug)prepositionslang
Under the influence of a drug or other substance.
The guy was off a perc and couldn't stand up.
By midnight he was clearly off something, laughing at nothing and talking way too fast.
UsageFollowed by the drug: off a pill, off something. Compare off his meds, which means not taking them.
Similaron
Note
Drug slang in which the preposition flips its meaning: off a perc means high on one. That is the reverse of no longer taking something.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
In drug slang, off a perc means under the influence. en.wiktionary.org
29
far side (vehicle)adjective
Of a horse, on its right-hand side; in Britain, of a vehicle, on the side farthest from the kerb, the right-hand side.
The off rear light isn't working.
The sorrel was favoring its off forefoot.
UsageBefore the noun: the off front wheel. The other side is the near side.
Oppositenear
Note
Horse-and-cart geometry survives in British usage: the off side is the one away from the curb, and its opposites are near and nigh. The same pairing names the off horse of a team. Jack Schaefer applies it to a horse in 1963, with a sorrel favoring its off forefoot.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Jack Schaefer describes a sorrel favouring its off forefoot in Monte Walsh. en.wiktionary.org
The cited work was first published in 1963. unmpress.com
30
noununcountable
The beginning or starting point of something, usually in set phrases such as from the off.
The favorite took the lead from the off and was never caught.
Bags packed and boots on, the whole family was ready for the off by seven.
UsageUsually with the, in set phrases: from the off, ready for the off.
Similarstart (entry), outset
Note
From the off means from the very start, of a story, a plan or a race, while ready for the off describes people about to set out. The racecourse feel is strong: a Royal Ascot outfit is advertised with "are you ready for the off?"
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Anthony Formal Wear advertises Royal Ascot suits using the quoted question. anthonyformalwear.co.uk
31
adjectiveslangAustralia
Revolting or gross enough to make one recoil.
32
adjective
In cricket, on or toward the part of the ground that a batter faces in the stance, which is a right-hander's right.
33
preposition
Used after a number in trade or engineering to give a count of parts or items, as in 50 off.
34
verbNigeriaPhilippinesSingapore
To make a light, machine or other device stop working by using its switch.

Practice

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Origin

Old English had of, af, æf ("from, off, away"), which became Middle English of. Behind it lie Proto-Germanic *ab ("from") and, further back, the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂epo ("from, off, back"). It is a doublet of of, and its relatives include Dutch af, German ab, Latin ab, and Ancient Greek apó.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

Old English had the forms of, af and æf, meaning “from, off, away”. en.wiktionary.org
These Old English forms developed into Middle English of, the ancestor of off. en.wiktionary.org
The word descends from Proto-Germanic *ab, meaning “from”. en.wiktionary.org
The earlier reconstructed Proto-Indo-European ancestor is *h₂epo, glossed “from, off, back”. en.wiktionary.org
Off and of are doublets. en.wiktionary.org
Dutch af, German ab, Latin ab and Ancient Greek apó are cognates of off. en.wiktionary.org