off

[awf, of] /ɔf, ɒf/
adverb
1.
so as to be no longer supported or attached:
This button is about to come off.
2.
so as to be no longer covering or enclosing:
to take a hat off; to take the wrapping off.
3.
away from a place:
to run off; to look off toward the west.
4.
away from a path, course, etc.; aside:
This road branches off to Grove City.
5.
so as to be away or on one's way:
to start off early; to cast off.
6.
away from what is considered normal, regular, standard, or the like:
to go off on a tangent.
7.
from a charge or price:
He took 10 percent off for all cash purchases.
8.
at a distance in space or future time:
to back off a few feet; Summer is only a week off.
9.
out of operation or effective existence:
Turn the lights off.
10.
into operation or action:
The alarm goes off at noon.
11.
so as to interrupt continuity or cause discontinuance:
Negotiations have been broken off.
12.
in absence from work, service, a job, etc.:
two days off at Christmas.
13.
completely; utterly:
to kill off all the inhabitants.
14.
with prompt or ready performance:
to dash a letter off.
15.
to fulfillment, or into execution or effect:
The contest came off on the appointed day.
16.
into nonexistence or nothingness:
My headache passed off soon.
17.
so as to be delineated, divided, or apportioned:
Mark it off into equal parts.
18.
away from a state of consciousness:
I must have dozed off.
19.
Nautical. away from the land, a ship, the wind, etc.
preposition
20.
so as no longer to be supported by, attached to, on, resting on, or unified with:
Take your feet off the table! Break a piece of bread off the loaf.
21.
deviating from:
off balance; off course.
22.
below or less than the usual or expected level or standard:
20 percent off the marked price; I was off my golf game.
23.
away, disengaged, or resting from:
to be off duty on Tuesdays.
24.
Informal. refraining or abstaining from; denying oneself the pleasure, company, practice, etc., of:
He's off gambling.
25.
away from; apart or distant from:
a village off the main road.
26.
leading into or away from:
an alley off 12th Street.
27.
not fixed on or directed toward, as the gaze, eyes, etc.:
Their eyes weren't off the king for a moment.
28.
Informal. from (a specified source):
I bought it off a street vendor.
29.
from or of, indicating material or component parts:
to lunch off cheese and fruit.
30.
from or by such means or use of:
living off an inheritance; living off his parents.
31.
Nautical. at some distance to seaward of:
off Cape Hatteras.
adjective
32.
in error; wrong:
You are off on that point.
33.
slightly abnormal or not quite sane:
He is a little off, but he's really harmless.
34.
not up to standard; not so good or satisfactory as usual; inferior or subnormal:
a good play full of off moments.
35.
no longer in effect, in operation, or in process:
The agreement is off.
36.
stopped from flowing, as by the closing of a valve:
The electricity is off.
37.
in a specified state, circumstance, etc.:
to be badly off for money.
38.
(of time) free from work or duty; nonworking:
a pastime for one's off hours.
39.
not working at one's usual occupation:
We're off Wednesdays during the summer.
40.
of less than the ordinary activity, liveliness, or lively interest; slack:
an off season in the tourist trade.
41.
unlikely; remote; doubtful:
on the off chance that we'd find her at home.
42.
more distant; farther:
the off side of a wall.
43.
(of a vehicle, single animal, or pair of animals hitched side by side) of, being, or pertaining to the right as seen from the rider's or driver's viewpoint (opposed to near):
the off horse; the off side.
44.
starting on one's way; leaving:
I'm off to Europe on Monday. They're off and running in the third race at Aqueduct.
45.
lower in price or value; down:
Stock prices were off this morning.
46.
Nautical. noting one of two like things that is the farther from the shore; seaward:
the off side of the ship.
47.
Cricket. noting or pertaining to that side of the wicket or of the field opposite that on which the batsman stands.
noun
48.
the state or fact of being off.
49.
Cricket. the off side.
verb (used without object)
50.
to go off or away; leave (used imperatively):
Off, and don't come back!
verb (used with object)
51.
Slang. to kill; slay.
Verb phrases
52.
get off on. get (def 57).
Idioms
53.
get it off. get (def 54).
54.
off and on,
  1. Also, on and off. with intervals between; intermittently:
    to work off and on.
  2. Nautical. on alternate tacks.
55.
off of, Informal. off:
Take your feet off of the table!
56.
off with,
  1. take away; remove:
    Off with those muddy boots before you step into this kitchen!
  2. cut off:
    Off with his head!
Origin
orig. stressed variant of of1
Usage note
The phrasal preposition off of is old in English, going back to the 16th century. Although usage guides reject it as redundant, recommending off without of, the phrase is widespread in speech, including that of the educated: Let's watch as the presidential candidates come off of the rostrum and down into the audience. Off of is rare in edited writing except to give the flavor of speech.

-off

1.
a suffixal use of the adverb off, forming nouns that denote competitions, especially between the finalists of earlier competitions or as a means of deciding a tie:
cookoff; playoff; runoff.

off.

1.
offered.
2.
office.
3.
officer.
4.
official.
Examples from the web for off
  • If you're one of the unlucky ones, the ground starts to shake, jolting your house off its foundation.
  • One day in the future, infection may be fought by simply switching bacterial invaders off.
  • The lumbering beasts coexisted with the first humans for tens of thousands of years and then died off.
  • To prevent powdery mildew, plant resistant varieties and routinely spray plants with jets of water to wash off fungus spores.
  • Now pharmaceutical firms are beginning to careen off the patent cliff.
  • Warming due to climate change will level off in the coming years, researchers predict based on a new climate model.
  • What's left over in the core, the radioactive material, will continue to give off heat for a long time.
  • The best strategy is to shake snow off or knock it off with a broom to keep it from building up.
  • One such might be the requirement to stash your earphones and switch off your iPod on take-off and landing.
  • Digital books are flying off the proverbial shelves.
British Dictionary definitions for off

off

/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 you
adverb
6.
(particle) so as to be deactivated or disengaged: turn off the radio
7.
(particle)
  1. so as to get rid of: sleep off a hangover
  2. 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.
  1. on a trip, journey, or race: I saw her off at the station
  2. (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.
  1. out of contact; at a distance: the ship was 10 miles off
  2. 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 all her clothes off
15.
offstage: noises off
16.
(commerce) (used with a preceding number) indicating the number of items required or produced: please supply 100 off
17.
off and on, on and off, occasionally; intermittently: he comes here off and on
18.
(interjection) off with, a command, often peremptory, or an exhortation to remove or cut off (something specified): off with his head, off with that coat, my dear
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)
  1. the part of the field on that side of the pitch to which the batsman presents his bat when taking strike: thus for a right-hander, off is on the right-hand side Compare leg (sense 13)
  2. (in combination) a fielding position in this part of the field: mid-off
  3. (as modifier): the off stump
verb
27.
(transitive) to kill (someone)
Usage note
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
Word Origin and History for off
adv.

by c.1200 as an emphatic form of Old English of (see of), employed in the adverbial use of that word. The prepositional meaning "away from" and the adjectival sense of "farther" were not firmly fixed in this variant until 17c., but once they were they left the original of with the transferred and weakened senses of the word. Meaning "not working" is from 1861. Off the cuff (1938) is from the notion of speaking from notes written in haste on one's shirt cuffs. Off the rack (adj.) is from 1963; off the record is from 1933; off the wall "crazy" is 1968, probably from the notion of a lunatic "bouncing off the walls" or else in reference to carom shots in squash, handball, etc.

v.

"to kill," 1930, from off (adv.). Earlier verbal senses were "to defer" (1640s), "to move off" (1882). Related: Offed.

Slang definitions & phrases for off

off

adjective
  1. Not performing well;: Perot had an off-night (1846+)
  2. Spoiled; not fresh: the milk's a bit off (1896+)
  3. Eccentric; abnormal; weird: That girl is off (1866+)
  4. Canceled; not going to happen: Let's call the whole thing off/ The deal's off (1882+)
  5. Not working; not engaged: The cook is off today (1861+) prep Not using; no longer addicted to: She's off H now/ I've been off the sauce for four years (1930s+ Narcotics)
verb
  1. To kill or destroy; waste: ordered him to mess up a couple of guys, but instead he offed them/ We'll off any pig who attacks us (1930+)
  2. To do the sex act with or to; screw: When I off a nigger bitch, I close my eyes and concentrate real hard (1950s+ Black)

Related Abbreviations for off

off.

  1. office
  2. officer
  3. official
Idioms and Phrases with off

off

also see:
on
.