off

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 of, af (“off, away”), West Frisian af, ôf (“off, away”), Dutch af (“off, from”), German Low German of (“off, from”), German ab (“off, from”), Danish af (“of, off”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish av (“of, off”), Icelandic af (“of, off”), Gothic 𐌰𐍆 (af, “of, from”); and with Latin ab (“of, from, by”), Ancient Greek ἀπό (apó, “from”), and others.

adv

1. In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.
   He drove off in a cloud of smoke.
2. Into a state of non-operation or non-existence.
   Please switch off the light when you leave.
   The dinosaurs died off long ago.
3. So as to remove or separate, or be removed or separated.
   He bit off the end of the carrot.
   Some branches were sawn off.
   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. 2010, Jo Whittemore, Front Page Face-Off, page 113
4. (theater) Offstage.
   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.

adj

1. Inoperative, disabled.
   All the lights are off.
2. 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. Rancid, rotten, gone bad.
   This milk is off!
5. (by extension, Australia, slang) Disgusting, repulsive, abhorrent.
6. Less than normal, in temperament or in result.
   sales are off this quarter
7. Inappropriate; untoward.
   I felt that his comments were a bit off.
8. (in phrases such as 'well off', 'poorly off', etc., and in 'how?' questions) 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 2008, Kiron K. Skinner, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Serhiy Kudelia, The Strategy of Campaigning
9. 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. 1922, James Joyce, chapter V, in Ulysses
   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. 1990, Peter Pinney, The glass cannon: a Bougainville diary, 1944-45
10. 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. 1937, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Harper Perennial, published 2000, page 151
11. 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
12. (in phrases such as 'off day') Designating a time when one is not performing to the best of one's abilities.
13. (of a dish on a menu) Presently unavailable.
    — I'll have the chicken please.
    — Sorry, chicken's off today.
14. (Britain, in relation to a vehicle) On the side furthest from the kerb (the right-hand side if one drives on the left).
    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. 1963, Jack Schaefer, Monte Walsh, page 174
    The off front wheel came loose.
15. (cricket) In, or towards the half of the field away from the batsman's legs; the right side for a right-handed batsman.

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.
   He's off the computer, but he's still on the phone.
3. 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!
4. Used to express location at sea relative to land or mainland.
   The island is 23 miles off the cape.
5. Removed or subtracted from.
   There's 20% off the list price.
6. No longer wanting or taking.
   He's been off his feed since Tuesday.
   He's off his meds again.
7. (colloquial, more properly 'from') Out of the possession of.
   He didn't buy it off him. He stole it off him.
8. Placed after a number (of products or parts, as if a unit), in commerce or engineering.
   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
   I'd like to re-order those printer cartridges, let's say 5-off.

verb

1. (transitive, slang) 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. September 19, 2017, Gwilym Mumford, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle review – spy sequel reaches new heights of skyscraping silliness”, in the Guardian
2. (transitive, Singapore, Philippines, Nigeria) To switch off.
   Can you off the light?

noun

1. (usually in phrases such as 'from the off', 'at the off', etc.) 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) 2022-12-01, “2023 Royal Ascot suit ... are you ready for the off?”, in anthonyformalwear.co.uk, archived from the original on 2022-01-24