pronunciation note: The preposition is pronounced (ɒf, US ɔːf). The adverb is pronounced (ɒf, USɔːf)In addition to the uses shown below, off is used after some verbs and nouns in order to introduce extra information. Off is also used in phrasal verbs such as 'get off', 'pair off', and 'sleep off'.
1. preposition
If something is taken off something else or moves off it, it is no longer touching that thing.
He took his feet off the desk.
I took the key for the room off a rack above her head.
Hugh wiped the rest of the blood off his face with his handkerchief.
Off is also an adverb.
Lee broke off a small piece of orange and held it out to him.
His exhaust fell off six laps from the finish.
2. preposition
When you get off a bus, train, or plane, you come out of it or leave it after you have been travelling on it.
Don't try to get on or off a moving train!
As he stepped off the aeroplane, he was shot dead.
Off is also an adverb.
At the next stop the man got off too and introduced himself.
3. preposition
If you keep off a street or piece of land, you do not step on it or go there.
Locking up men does nothing more than keep them off the streets.
The local police had warned visitors to keep off the beach at night.
Off is also an adverb.
...a sign saying 'Keep Off'.
4. preposition
If something is situated off a place such as a coast, room, or road, it is near to it or next to it, but not exactly in it.
The boat was anchored off the northern coast of the peninsula.
Lily lives in a penthouse just off Park Avenue.
The Princess's sitting-room leads off the drawing room.
Tiny secluded beaches can be found off the beaten track.
5. adverb [ADVERB after verb, beADVERB, oft ADV -ing]
If you go off, you leave a place.
He was just about to drive off when the secretary came running out.
She gave a hurried wave and set off across the grass.
She was off again. Last year she had been to Kenya. This year it was Goa.
When his master's off traveling, Caleb stays with Pierre's parents.
6. adverb [ADVERB after verb]
Off is used in a number of informal and sometimes offensive phrasal verbs, such as buzz off, clear off, or in British English bugger off, which are used to tell someone angrily to go away.
7. adverb [ADVERB after verb]
When you take off clothing or jewellery that you are wearing, you remove it from your body.
He took off his spectacles and rubbed frantically at the lens.
He hastily stripped off his old uniform and began pulling on the new one.
8. adverb [oft beADV]
If you have time off or a particular day off, you do not go to work or school, for example because you are ill or it is a day when you do not usually work.
The rest of the men had the day off.
You can even snatch a few hours off, and perhaps negotiate the occasional night offtoo.
She was sacked for demanding Saturdays off.
I'm off tomorrow.
The average worker was off sick 27 days last year.
Synonyms: absent, gone, unavailable, not present More Synonyms of off
Off is also a preposition.
He could not get time off work to go on holiday.
9. preposition
If you keep off a subject, you deliberately avoid talking about it.
Keep off the subject of politics.
Keep the conversation off linguistic matters.
10. adverb [beADVERB, ADVERB after verb]
If something such as an agreement or a sporting event is off, it is cancelled.
Until Pointon is completely happy, however, the deal's off.
The vacant W.B.C. junior-lightweight title has been called off.
Greenpeace refused to call off the event.
11. preposition
If someone is off something harmful such as a drug, they have stopped taking or using it.
She was taken off antibiotics and given pain killers.
Some of you might be off chocolate as part of your New Year's resolution.
12. preposition
If you are off something, you have stopped liking it.
I'm off coffee at the moment.
Diarrhoea can make you feel weak, as well as putting you off your food.
13. adverb [beADVERB, ADVERB after verb]
When something such as a machine or electric light is off, it is not functioning or in use. When you switch it off, you stop it functioning.
As he pulled into the driveway, he saw her bedroom light was off.
We used sail power and turned the engine off to save our fuel.
The microphones had been switched off.
14. preposition
If there is money off something, its price is reduced by the amount specified.
...Simons Leatherwear, 37 Old Christchurch Road. 20 per cent off all jackets thisSaturday.
...discounts offering thousands of pounds off the normal price of a car.
Off is also an adverb.
I'm prepared to knock five hundred pounds off but no more.
15. adverb
If something is a long way off, it is a long distance away from you.
Florida was a long way off.
...animals that from a long way off look like flies.
Below you, though still 50 miles off, is the most treeless stretch of land imaginable.
16. adverb
If something is a long time off, it will not happen for a long time.
An end to the crisis seems a long way off.
The required technology is probably still two years off.
17. preposition
If you get something off someone, you obtain it from them.
[spoken]
I don't really get a lot of information, and if I do I get it off Mark.
I can't find the boys' shampoo. I can't think where I put it when I took it off them.
'Telmex' was bought off the government by a group of investors.
18. combining form in graded adjective
Off combines with adverbs such as 'well', 'badly', and 'worse' to form adjectives that indicate how poor or rich someone is.
Most of these people aren't very well off.
Surely you can't be that badly off?
He's very comfortably off.
19. adjective [verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If food has gone off, it tastes and smells bad because it is no longer fresh enough to be eaten.
[mainly British]
Don't eat that! It's mouldy. It's gone off!
regional note: in AM, usually use spoiled, bad
20. preposition
If you live off a particular kind of food, you eat it in order to live. If you live off a particular source of money, you use it to live.
Living off papaya, mango and pineapple might sound delicious, but is not practical.
Antony had been living off the sale of his own paintings.
21. preposition
If a machine runs off a particular kind of fuel or power, it uses that power in order to function.
During the daytime the mechanical heart works off batteries.
22. graded adjective [v-link adv ADJ]
If you say that someone's behaviour is a bitoff, you mean that you find it unacceptable or wrong.
[informal]
Some of the dialogue is slightly off.
Synonyms: unacceptable, poor, unsatisfactory, disappointing More Synonyms of off
23.
See off and on
More Synonyms of off
English Easy Learning GrammarPrepositionsA preposition is one of a small but very common group of words that relate differentitems to each other. Most English prepositions have a number of meanings ... Read more
off in British English
(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 that show
adverb
6. (particle)
so as to be deactivated or disengaged
turn off the radio
7. (particle)
a.
so as to get rid of
sleep off a hangover
b.
so as to be removed from, esp as a reduction
he took ten per cent off
8.
spent away from work or other duties
take the afternoon off
9.
a.
on a trip, journey, or race
I saw her off at the station
b. (particle)
so as to be completely absent, used up, or exhausted
this stuff kills off all vermin
10.
out from the shore or land
the ship stood off
11.
a.
out of contact; at a distance
the ship was 10 miles off
b.
out of the present location
the girl ran off
12.
away in the future
August is less than a week off
13. (particle)
so as to be no longer taking place
the match has been rained off
14. (particle)
removed from contact with something, as clothing from the body
the girl took her scarf off
15.
offstage
noises off
16. business
(used with a preceding number) indicating the number of items required or produced
please supply 100 off
17. off and on
18. off with
adjective
19.
not on; no longer operative
the off position on the dial
20. (postpositive)
not or no longer taking place; cancelled or postponed
the meeting is off
21.
in a specified condition regarding money, provisions, etc
well off
how are you off for bread?
22.
unsatisfactory or disappointing
his performance was rather off
an off year for good tennis
23. (postpositive)
in a condition as specified
I'd be better off without this job
24. (postpositive)
no longer on the menu; not being served at the moment
sorry, love, haddock is off
25. (postpositive)
(of food or drink) having gone bad, sour, etc
this milk is off
noun
26. cricket
a.
the part of the field on that side of the pitch to which the batsman presents his or her bat when taking strike: thus for a right-hander, off is on the right-hand side
Compare leg (sense 13)
b. (in combination)
a fielding position in this part of the field
mid-off
c.
(as modifier)
the off stump
verb
27. (transitive)
to kill (someone)
▶ USAGE In standard English, off is not followed by of: he stepped off (not off of) the platform
Word origin
originally variant of of; fully distinguished from it in the 17th century
off in American English1
(ɔf; ɑf)
adverb
1.
so as to be or keep away, at a distance, to a side, etc.
to move off, to ward off
2.
so as to be measured, divided, etc.
to pace off, to mark off
3.
so as to be no longer on, attached, united, covering, in contact, etc.
take off your hat, the paint wore off
4.
(a specified distance) away:
a.
in space
a town ten miles off
b.
in time
a date two weeks off
5.
a.
so as to be no longer in operation, function, continuance, etc.
turn the motor off
b.
to the point of completion, extinction, or exhaustion
drink it off
6.
so as to be less, smaller, fewer, etc.
to allow 5% off for cash
7.
so as to lose consciousness
to doze off
8.
away from one's work or usual activity
to take a week off
preposition
9.
(so as to be) no longer (or not) on, attached to, united with, covering, in contactwith, etc.
it blew off the desk; a car went off the road
10.
away from but not far from
to live off campus, anchored off the lee shore
11.
a.
from the substance of; on
to live off an inheritance
b.
at the expense of
12.
coming or branching out from
an alley off Main Street
13.
free or relieved from
off duty
14.
not up to the usual level, standard, etc. of
off one's game
15.
less than; taken from
25% off the regular price
16. Informal
no longer using, engaging in, supporting, etc.; abstaining from
to be off liquor
17. Informal
from
I bought it off a friend
adjective
18.
not on, attached, united, etc.
his hat is off
19.
not in operation, function, continuance, etc.
the motor is off
20.
gone away; on the way
be off to bed
21.
a.
less, smaller, fewer, etc.
sales are off
b.
lower in value
22.
away from work, etc.; absent
the maid is off today
23.
not up to what is usual, normal, standard, etc.
an off day
24.
more remote; further
on the off chance, the off side
25.
on the right side, facing forward
said of an animal in double harness, a wagon wheel, etc. see also near
26.
in (specified) circumstances
to be well off
27.
not correct; in error; wrong
his figures are off
28. Informal
not quite normal in thinking, behavior, etc.; mildly eccentric
29. Cricket
designating the side of the field facing the batsman
noun
30.
the fact or condition of being off
turn the switch from off to on
31. Cricket
the off side
verb transitive
32. Slang
to kill; murder
interjection
33.
go away; stay away
▶ USAGE: Off is also used in various idiomatic expressions, many of which are entered in thisdictionary under the key words
Idioms:
off and on
off with!
off with you!
Word origin
LME var. of of, of1, later generalized for all occurrences of of in stressed positions
off in American English2
1.
offered
2.
office
3.
officer
4.
official
-off in American English
(ɔf; ɑf)
a contest of skill in a (specified) activity or field, esp. one in which finalists compete, as by preparing their own version of a recipe, to determine a champion
a chili cook-off
-off in American English
suffix
a suffixal use of the adverb off, forming nouns that denote competitions, esp. between the finalists of earlier competitions or as a means of deciding a tie
cookoff
playoff
runoff
off in Accounting
(ɔf)
adjective
(Accounting: Financial statements, Balance sheet)
If an amount or figure is off, it differs from or is inconsistent with the correct amount.
The reconciliation is off by $510.37.
For a budget surplus of $234 billion in 2004, the calculation could be off by $250 billion.
If an amount or figure is off, it differs from or is inconsistent with the correct amount.
Examples of 'off' in a sentence
off
But to do that means more than just sounding off.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He is a great athlete with a strong upper body for shrugging people off.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
They are used to scare off rather than kill the unwanted birds.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
How important was the year off you took?
The Sun (2016)
The brakes are then applied and an emergency alarm goes off.
The Sun (2016)
He has been sent off twice at home which does not look good.
The Sun (2016)
That sense of belonging seems a long way off still.
The Sun (2016)
Shave it off or find a new hobby.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We built it and then rented out our original home to pay off the mortgage.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Against the seamers, he essentially lines up to off stump and looks to make the bowlers bowl to him, before working to the leg side.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Maybe we write people off too quickly.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Why should we and other taxpayers fund pocket money and savings plans for the comfortably off?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Can you think of a better way to kill off the regional service?
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Take the pressure off and find a quiet time to talk.
The Sun (2013)
The department was concerned to establish whether its investment in science and technology was paying off.
Yearley, Steven Science, Technology, and Social Change (1988)
Everyone wants to live off our money.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
You stare up at the green hills and long to be off.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
We now know he would have been a lot better off just eating them.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
We also spark ideas off each other.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
This may not be enough to head off controversy.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Such thoughts are a long way off for many parts of the country.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
He made his choice and has come off badly.
The Sun (2014)
The defending champions earned a week off and a home tie in the last four after scoring ten tries.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The biggest test of these championships will be if they are remembered for the action on the track rather than off it.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In other languages
off
British English: off /ɒf/ ADJECTIVE
When something that uses electricity is off, it is not using electricity.
The light was off.
American English: off
Arabic: بعيدا
Brazilian Portuguese: desligado motor
Chinese: 离开
Croatian: ugašen
Czech: vypnutý spotřebič
Danish: af
Dutch: uitgeschakeld
European Spanish: fuera
Finnish: pois
French: hors tension
German: entfernt
Greek: κλειστός
Italian: spento
Japanese: 切れて
Korean: 꺼진
Norwegian: bort
Polish: precz
European Portuguese: desligado motor
Romanian: stins
Russian: выключенный
Latin American Spanish: apagado no estar
Swedish: av
Thai: ไม่ทำงาน
Turkish: kapalı
Ukrainian: вимкнений
Vietnamese: tắt
British English: off /ɒf/ PREPOSITION
If you take something off another thing, it is no longer on it.
He took his feet off the desk.
American English: off
Arabic: بعيد
Brazilian Portuguese: fora de
Chinese: 离开
Croatian: s
Czech: z
Danish: af
Dutch: vanaf
European Spanish: de
Finnish: irti
French: de
German: von
Greek: από
Italian: via da
Japanese: ･･･を離れて
Korean: ...에서 떨어져
Norwegian: bort fra
Polish: poza
European Portuguese: fora de
Romanian: de pe
Russian: от
Latin American Spanish: fuera
Swedish: bort undan
Thai: ออกจาก
Turkish: kapalı
Ukrainian: скидання одягу
Vietnamese: khỏi ra ngoài
Chinese translation of 'off'
off
(ɔf)
adj
(= not turned on)[machine, light, engine, tap]关(關)着(著)的 (guānzhe de)
( challenge ) 使不能接近 shǐ bùnéng jiējìn ⇒ Alesi drove magnificently, holding off the challenge from Berger. → 阿勒西开得棒极了，使伯杰不能接近。 Ālèxī kāi de bàng jí le, shǐ Bójié bùnéng jiējìn.
keep off
使不接近 shǐ bù jiējìn ⇒ a bamboo shelter to keep the rain off → 挡雨的竹棚 dǎngyǔ de zhúpéng ⇒ Keep your dog off my lawn! → 别让你的狗接近我的草坪！ Bié ràng nǐ de gǒu jiējìn wǒ de cǎopíng!
1 (adverb)
Definition
away
He went off on his own.
Synonyms
away
She drove away before he could speak again.
out
apart
He saw her standing some distance apart.
elsewhere
Almost 80% of the state's residents were born elsewhere.
aside
She closed the book and laid it aside.
hence
from here
2 (adverb)
Definition
spent away from work or other duties
She was off sick 27 days last year.
Synonyms
absent
gone
unavailable
not present
inoperative
nonattendant
1 (adjective)
Definition
cancelled or postponed
Today's game is off.
Synonyms
cancelled
abandoned
postponed
shelved
2 (adjective)
Definition
(of food or drink) having gone bad or sour
Food starts to smell when it goes off.
Synonyms
bad
They bought so much beef that some went bad.
rotten
The smell is like rotten eggs.
rancid
the odour of rancid milk
mouldy
mouldy bread
high
turned
spoiled
sour
tiny fridges full of sour milk
decayed
Even young children have teeth so decayed they need to be extracted.
decomposed
putrid
river banks coated with layers of putrid sludge from untreated waste
3 (adjective)
Definition
not up to the usual standard
Playing your music that loud – it's a bit off, isn't it?
Synonyms
unacceptable
His rude behaviour was unacceptable.
poor
The meal was very poor.
He was a poor actor.
unsatisfactory
The inspectors said a third of lessons were unsatisfactory.
disappointing
The response to the appeal was disappointing.
inadequate
second-rate
another second-rate politician
shoddy
I'm normally quick to complain about shoddy service.
displeasing
below par
mortifying
substandard
a policy of clearing substandard housing
disheartening
idiom
See off and on
Additional synonyms
in the sense of apart
Definition
separate in time, place, or position
He saw her standing some distance apart.
Synonyms
aside,
away,
alone,
independently,
separately,
singly,
excluded,
isolated,
cut off,
to one side,
to yourself,
by itself,
aloof,
to itself,
by yourself,
out on a limb
in the sense of aside
Definition
out of mind
She closed the book and laid it aside.
Synonyms
to one side,
away,
alone,
separately,
apart,
alongside,
beside,
out of the way,
on one side,
to the side,
in isolation,
in reserve,
out of mind
in the sense of decayed
Even young children have teeth so decayed they need to be extracted.
Synonyms
rotten,
bad,
decaying,
wasted,
spoiled,
perished,
festering,
decomposed,
corroded,
unsound,
putrid,
putrefied,
putrescent,
carrion,
carious
Synonyms of 'off'
off
Explore 'off' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of disappointing
The response to the appeal was disappointing.
Synonyms
unsatisfactory,
inadequate,
discouraging,
sorry,
upsetting,
sad,
depressing,
unhappy,
unexpected,
pathetic,
inferior,
insufficient,
lame,
disconcerting,
second-rate,
unworthy,
not much cop (British, slang)
in the sense of elsewhere
Definition
in or to another place
Almost 80% of the state's residents were born elsewhere.
Synonyms
in or to another place,
away,
abroad,
hence (archaic),
somewhere else,
not here,
in other places,
in or to a different place
in the sense of mouldy
Definition
stale or musty, esp. from age or lack of use
mouldy bread
Synonyms
stale,
spoiled,
rotting,
decaying,
bad,
rotten,
blighted,
musty,
fusty,
mildewed
in the sense of poor
Definition
disappointing or disagreeable
The meal was very poor.He was a poor actor.
Synonyms
inferior,
unsatisfactory,
mediocre,
second-rate,
sorry,
weak,
pants (informal),
rotten (informal),
faulty,
feeble,
worthless,
shabby,
shoddy,
low-grade,
below par,
substandard,
low-rent (informal),
for the birds (informal, old-fashioned),
crappy (slang),
valueless,
no great shakes (informal, old-fashioned),
rubbishy,
poxy (slang),
piss-poor (slang),
chickenshit (US, slang),
not much cop (British, slang),
half-pie (New Zealand, informal),
strictly for the birds (informal, old-fashioned),
bodger or bodgie (Australian, slang)
in the sense of putrid
Definition
(of organic matter) rotting
river banks coated with layers of putrid sludge from untreated waste
Synonyms
rotten,
contaminated,
stinking,
tainted,
off,
bad,
rank,
foul,
spoiled,
corrupt,
rotting,
decayed,
reeking,
decomposed,
rancid,
fetid,
putrefied,
olid,
festy (Australian, slang)
in the sense of rancid
Definition
(of fatty foods) stale and having an offensive smell
the odour of rancid milk
Synonyms
rotten,
sour,
foul,
bad,
off,
rank,
tainted,
stale,
musty,
fetid,
putrid,
fusty,
strong-smelling,
frowsty
in the sense of rotten
Definition
decomposing or decaying
The smell is like rotten eggs.
Synonyms
decaying,
bad,
rank,
foul,
corrupt,
sour,
stinking,
tainted,
perished,
festering,
decomposed,
decomposing,
mouldy,
mouldering,
fetid,
putrid,
putrescent (formal),
festy (Australian, slang)
in the sense of second-rate
Definition
not of the highest quality
another second-rate politician
Synonyms
inferior,
mediocre,
poor,
cheap,
pants (slang),
commonplace,
tacky (informal),
shoddy,
low-grade,
tawdry,
low-quality,
substandard,
low-rent (informal),
(strictly) for the birds (informal),
two-bit (slang),
end-of-the-pier (British, informal),
no great shakes (informal),
cheap and nasty (informal),
rubbishy,
dime-a-dozen (informal),
piss-poor (slang),
bush-league (Australian, New Zealand, informal),
not much cop (British, slang),
tinhorn (US, slang),
half-pie (New Zealand, informal),
bodger or bodgie (Australian, slang)
in the sense of shoddy
Definition
of poor quality
I'm normally quick to complain about shoddy service.
Synonyms
inferior,
poor,
second-rate,
cheap,
tacky (informal),
tawdry,
tatty,
trashy,
low-rent (informal),
slipshod,
cheapo (informal),
rubbishy,
junky (informal),
cheap-jack (informal),
bodger or bodgie (Australian, slang)
in the sense of sour
Definition
made acid or bad, such as when milk ferments
tiny fridges full of sour milk
Synonyms
rancid,
turned,
gone off,
fermented,
unsavoury,
curdled,
unwholesome,
gone bad,
off
Additional synonyms
in the sense of substandard
Definition
below an established or required standard
a policy of clearing substandard housing
Synonyms
inferior,
inadequate,
unacceptable,
damaged,
imperfect,
second-rate,
shoddy
in the sense of unsatisfactory
Definition
not good enough
The inspectors said a third of lessons were unsatisfactory.
Synonyms
not good enough,
inadequate,
unacceptable,
poor,
disappointing,
weak,
pathetic,
insufficient,
unsuitable,
mediocre,
deficient,
unworthy,
displeasing,
not up to scratch (informal),
no great shakes (informal),
not much cop (British, slang),
not up to par
All related terms of 'off'
go off
depart, leave, quit, go away, move out
cry off
back out, withdraw, quit, cop out, beg off
day off
holiday, accumulated day off or ADO
get off
be absolved, be acquitted, escape punishment, walk