What does "off" mean?
Beginning; starting point.
Off
/ɒf/ adj, adv, noun, prep, verb, slang
adj, adv, noun, prep, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Beginning; starting point.
- Grammar: off is listed as adj, adv, noun, prep, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: away, ab-, aberrant, abnormal.
- Useful contrasts: near, standard, thermal level.
- Usage evidence: It caught me off guard; I didn't know what to do.
How to use "off"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "off" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "off" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "off" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "off" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "off" is acting as adj, adv, noun, prep, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "away" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "off", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Beginning; starting point. uncountable, usually
"He has been very obviously an untrustworthy narrator right from the off."
Verb
- 1 To kill. slang, transitive
"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."
- 2 kill intentionally and with premeditation wordnet
- 3 To switch off. Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, transitive
"Can you off the light?"
Adjective
- 1 Inoperative, disabled. predicative
"All the lights are off."
- 2 Cancelled; not happening. predicative
"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."
- 4 Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.; Not correct; not properly formed; not logical, harmonious, etc.
"This calculation is off: the numbers don't add up."
- 5 Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.; Inappropriate; untoward. predicative
"I felt that his comments were a bit off."
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.; Less than normal, in temperament or in result.
"sales are off this quarter"
- 7 Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.; Designating a time when one is not performing to the best of one's abilities.
- 8 Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.; Rancid, rotten, gone bad. UK
"This milk is off!"
- 9 Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.; Disgusting, repulsive, abhorrent. Australia, broadly, slang
- 10 Circumstanced. usually
"Our family used to be well off; now we're very badly off."
- 11 Started on the way.
"off to see the wizard"
- 12 Far; off to the side.
"He took me down the corridor and into an off room."
- 13 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."
- 14 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"
- 15 Presently unavailable. (of a dish on a menu) predicative
"I'll have the chicken please. — Sorry, chicken's off today."
- 16 On the side furthest from the kerb (the right-hand side if one drives on the left). British
"The off front wheel came loose."
- 17 In, or towards the half of the field away from the batsman's legs; the right side for a right-handed batsman.
- 18 Offsuit. slang
Adjective
- 1 not performing or scheduled for duties wordnet
- 2 not in operation or operational wordnet
- 3 (of events) no longer planned or scheduled wordnet
- 4 below a satisfactory level wordnet
- 5 in an unpalatable state wordnet
Adverb
- 1 In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point. not-comparable
"He drove off in a cloud of smoke."
- 2 Into a state of non-operation or non-existence. not-comparable
"Please switch off the light when you leave."
- 3 So as to remove or separate, or be removed or separated. not-comparable
"He bit off the end of the carrot."
- 4 Offstage. not-comparable
"noises off"
- 5 Used 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. not-comparable
Adverb
- 1 no longer on or in contact or attached wordnet
- 2 from a particular thing or place or position (‘forth’ is obsolete) wordnet
- 3 at a distance in space or time wordnet
Preposition
- 1 Not positioned upon, or away from a position upon.
"He's off the roof now."
- 2 Detached, separated, excluded or disconnected from; away from a position of attachment or connection to.
"The phone is off the hook"
- 3 Outside the area or region of.
"The suspect is now believed to be off the campus."
- 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.
"His office is off this corridor on the right."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 Used to indicate the location or direction of one thing relative to another, implying adjacency or accessibility via.; Used to express location at sea relative to land or mainland.
"The island is 23 miles off the cape."
- 7 Removed or subtracted from.
"There's 20% off the list price."
- 8 No longer wanting or taking.
"He's been off his feed since Tuesday."
- 9 Out of the possession of. colloquial
"He didn't buy it off him. He stole it off him."
- 10 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."
- 11 Under the influence of. slang
"The guy was off a perc."
- 12 As a result of. informal
"The team won off a late-game fumble by an opposing player."
Example
"It caught me off guard; I didn't know what to do."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "off"?
Common synonyms include: away, ab-, aberrant, abnormal, abroad, absent.
How do you use "off" in a sentence?
It caught me off guard; I didn't know what to do.
How do you pronounce "off"?
Pronounced /ɒf/.
Etymology
From Middle English of, from Old English of, af, æf (“from, off, away”), from Proto-West Germanic *ab, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“from”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo (“from, off, back”). Doublet of of. Cognates Cognate with Scots aff (“away, off”), Saterland Frisian oawe, ou (“from”), West Frisian ôf (“away, off”), Dutch af (“from, off”), German ab (“from, off”), German Low German, Luxembourgish of (“off”), Yiddish אָפּ (op, “off”), Danish, Icelandic af (“from, off”), Faroese, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk av (“off”), Swedish af, av (“off”), Gothic 𐌰𐍆 (af, “of, from”); and with Latin ab (“of, from, by”), Ancient Greek ἀπό (apó, “from”), and others.