| English Dictionary |
OFF (offer)
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does off mean?
• OFF (adjective)
The adjective OFF has 5 senses:
1. not in operation or operational
2. below a satisfactory level
3. (of events) no longer planned or scheduled
4. in an unpalatable state
5. not performing or scheduled for duties
Familiarity information: OFF used as an adjective is common.
• OFF (verb)
The verb OFF has 1 sense:
1. kill intentionally and with premeditation
Familiarity information: OFF used as a verb is very rare.
• OFF (adverb)
The adverb OFF has 3 senses:
1. from a particular thing or place or position ('forth' is obsolete)
2. at a distance in space or time
3. no longer on or in contact or attached
Familiarity information: OFF used as an adverb is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
Not in operation or operational
Context example:
the lights are off
Similar:
disconnected (not plugged in or connected to a power source)
Antonym:
on (in operation or operational)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Below a satisfactory level
Context example:
his performance was off
Similar:
unsatisfactory (not giving satisfaction)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(of events) no longer planned or scheduled
Synonyms:
cancelled; off
Context example:
the wedding is definitely off
Antonym:
on ((of events) planned or scheduled)
Sense 4
Meaning:
In an unpalatable state
Synonyms:
Context example:
sour milk
Similar:
soured (having turned bad)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Not performing or scheduled for duties
Context example:
He's off every Tuesday
Similar:
inactive (not engaged in full-time work)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Kill intentionally and with premeditation
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Synonyms:
bump off; dispatch; hit; murder; off; polish off; remove; slay
Context example:
The mafia boss ordered his enemies murdered
Hypernyms (to "off" is one way to...):
kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "off"):
burke (murder without leaving a trace on the body)
execute (murder in a planned fashion)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
Sense 1
Meaning:
From a particular thing or place or position ('forth' is obsolete)
Synonyms:
Context example:
go forth and preach
Domain usage:
archaicism; archaism (the use of an archaic expression)
Sense 2
Meaning:
At a distance in space or time
Synonyms:
away; off
Context example:
away back in the 18th century
Sense 3
Meaning:
No longer on or in contact or attached
Context example:
he shaved off his mustache
Context examples
Well, now, you do not mean to seriously suggest that this German rode off upon a bicycle in the dead of the night, bearing the boy in his arms?
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
"Don't take them off," I cried; "I will not stir."
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
“And break it out? and walk off with it for a hundred yards?” demanded Matthewson, a Bonanza King, he of the seven hundred vaunt.
(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)
A binary number in which a bit is set to either on or off to store information for bitwise operations.
(Bitmask, NCI Thesaurus)
Just as they were setting off, the gentlemen returned.
(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)
ACE is a di-peptidase, cleaving off 2 peptides from the c-terminal end of angiotensin.
(Angiotensin-converting Enzyme 2 Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)
The double track turned sharp off and took the direction of King’s Pyland.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
However, ULX-4 might not be a one-off event.
(NASA Satellite Spots a Mystery That's Gone in a Flash, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
The Airspace Operations Command in Brasília has kicked off operations of the Geostationary Satellite for Defense and Strategic Communications (SGDC).
(First Brazilian satellite starts operations, Agência Brasil)
Now, off you run, and see what you can make of him.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
| Learn English with... Proverbs |
"The body builds up with work, the mind with studying." (Albanian proverb)
"Give the dough to baker even if he eats half of it." (Arabic proverb)
"The best helmsmen stand on shore" (Dutch proverb)