off.
In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.
Meaning & usage
In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.
He drove off in a cloud of smoke.
Into a state of non-operation or non-existence.
Please switch off the light when you leave.
The dinosaurs died off long ago.
So as to remove or separate, or be removed or separated.
He bit off the end of the carrot.
Some branches were sawn off.
Specifying the number of some item in bills, parts lists, etc.
3 off 20 amp fuses
Offstage.
noises off
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.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Germanic *ab Proto-West Germanic *ab Old English æf Old English of Middle English of English off 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.
Inoperative, disabled.
All the lights are off.
Cancelled; not happening.
The party's off because the hostess is sick.
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.
Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc. Not correct; not properly formed; not logical, harmonious, etc.
Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc. Inappropriate; untoward.
Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc. Less than normal, in temperament or in result.
sales are off this quarter
Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc. Designating a time when one is not performing to the best of one's abilities.
Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc. Rancid, rotten, gone bad.
This milk is off!
Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc. Disgusting, repulsive, abhorrent.
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?
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.
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
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.
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
Presently unavailable. (of a dish on a menu)
I'll have the chicken please. — Sorry, chicken's off today.
On the side furthest from the kerb (the right-hand side if one drives on the left).
The off front wheel came loose.
In, or towards the half of the field away from the batsman's legs; the right side for a right-handed batsman.
Offsuit.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Germanic *ab Proto-West Germanic *ab Old English æf Old English of Middle English of English off 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.
Not positioned upon; away from a position upon.
He's off the roof now.
I took it off the table.
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.
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.
Temporarily not attending (a usual place), especially owing to illness or holiday.
off work; off school
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.
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.
Used to indicate the location or direction of one thing relative to another, implying adjacency or accessibility via. Used to indicate separation from a natural home or origin.
He used to be gone a lot of the time, off working on an oil rig.
Removed or subtracted from.
There's 20% off the list price.
No longer wanting or taking.
He's been off his feed since Tuesday.
He's off his meds again.
Out of the possession of.
He didn't buy it off him. He stole it off him.
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.
Under the influence of.
The guy was off a perc.
As a result of; resulting from the actions of.
The team won off a late-game fumble by an opposing player.
The economy is rising off the strength of the tech sector.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Germanic *ab Proto-West Germanic *ab Old English æf Old English of Middle English of English off 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.
To kill.
To switch off.
Can you off the light?
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Germanic *ab Proto-West Germanic *ab Old English æf Old English of Middle English of English off 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.
Beginning; starting point.
He has been very obviously an untrustworthy narrator right from the off.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Germanic *ab Proto-West Germanic *ab Old English æf Old English of Middle English of English off 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.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.