off

adv

1. (not-comparable)In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.

   “He drove off in a cloud of smoke.”

   “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.”

   “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.”

   “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.”

2. (not-comparable)Into a state of non-operation or non-existence.

   “Please switch off the light when you leave.”

   “The dinosaurs died off long ago.”

3. (not-comparable)So as to remove or separate, or be removed or separated.

   “He bit off the end of the carrot.”

   “Some branches were sawn off.”

   “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.”

4. (not-comparable)Offstage.

   “noises off”

5. (not-comparable)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.

adj

1. (predicative)Inoperative, disabled.

   “All the lights are off.”

2. (predicative)Cancelled; 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.”

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

4. Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.

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

   “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.”

5. (predicative)Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.

   “I felt that his comments were a bit off.”

6. Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.

   “sales are off this quarter”

7. Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.
8. (UK)Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.

   “This milk is off!”

9. (Australia, broadly, slang)Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.
10. (usually)Circumstanced.

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

    “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”

11. Started on the way.

    “off to see the wizard”

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

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

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

    “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.”

12. Far; off to the side.

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

    “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.”

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. (predicative)Presently unavailable. (of a dish on a menu)

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

16. (British)On the side furthest from the kerb (the right-hand side if one drives on the left).

    “The off front wheel came loose.”

    “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.”

17. In, or towards the half of the field away from the batsman's legs; the right side for a right-handed batsman.
18. (slang)Offsuit.

prep

1. Not positioned upon, or away from a position upon.

   “He's off the roof now.”

   “I took it off the table.”

   “Keep off the grass.”

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

   “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.”

   “We're off their radar.”

3. Outside the area or region of.

   “The suspect is now believed to be off the campus.”

   “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.

   “His office is off this corridor on the right.”

   “We're just off the main road.”

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

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

   “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.”

   “He's off his meds again.”

9. (colloquial)Out of the possession of.

   “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.”

    “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”

11. (slang)Under the influence of.

    “The guy was off a perc.”

12. (informal)As a result of.

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

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

verb

1. (slang, transitive)To 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.”

2. (Nigeria, Philippines, Singapore, transitive)To switch off.

   “Can you off the light?”

noun

1. (uncountable, usually)Beginning; starting point.

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

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