[awf, of] Pronunciation Key | 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 48. | the state or fact of being off. |
| 49. | Cricket. the off side. |
| 50. | to go off or away; leave (used imperatively): Off, and don't come back! |
| 51. | Slang. to kill; slay. |
| 52. | get off on. get (def. 57). |
| 53. | get it off. get (def. 54). |
| 54. | off and on,
|
| 55. | off of, Informal. off: Take your feet off of the table! |
| 56. | off with,
|
] Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| off
(ôf, ŏf) Pronunciation Key
adv.
adj.
prep.
v. offed, off·ing, offs v. intr. To go away; leave: Off or I'll call the police. v. tr. Slang To murder. [Variant of Middle English of, from Old English; see apo- in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: The compound preposition off of is generally regarded as informal and is best avoided in formal speech and writing: He stepped off (not off of) the platform. Off is informal as well when used to indicate a source: formal style requires I borrowed it from (not off) my brother. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
off
| off | |
adjective | |
| 1. | not in operation or operational; "the oven is off"; "the lights are off" [ant: on] |
| 2. | below a satisfactory level; "an off year for tennis"; "his performance was off" |
| 3. | (of events) no longer planned or scheduled; "the wedding is definitely off" [ant: on] |
| 4. | in an unpalatable state; "sour milk" |
| 5. | not performing or scheduled for duties; "He's off every Tuesday" |
adverb | |
| 1. | from a particular thing or place or position ('forth' is obsolete); "ran away from the lion"; "wanted to get away from there"; "sent the children away to boarding school"; "the teacher waved the children away from the dead animal"; "went off to school"; "they drove off"; "go forth and preach" [syn: away] |
| 2. | at a distance in space or time; "the boat was 5 miles off (or away)"; "the party is still 2 weeks off (or away)"; "away back in the 18th century" |
| 3. | no longer on or in contact or attached; "clean off the dirt"; "he shaved off his mustache" |
verb | |
| 1. | kill intentionally and with premeditation; "The mafia boss ordered his enemies murdered" [syn: murder] |
off
In addition to the idioms beginning with off, also see back off; bad off; beat off; beat the pants off; beg off; be off; better off; bite off more than one can chew; bite someone's head off; blast off; blow off; blow off steam; blow the lid off; bore to death (the pants off); branch off; break off; bring off; browned off; brush off; bug off; bump off; burn off; buy off; buzz off; call off; cap it all (off); carry off; cart off; cast off; change off; charge off; check off; cheesed off; chip off the old block; choke off; clear out (off); come off; come off it; cool down (off); cool off; count off; cry off; cut off; cut off one's nose; dash off; day off; die off; doze off; drop off; dust off; ease off; easy as pie (rolling off a log); fall away (off); fat of the land, live off the; fight off; fire off; first off; fish or cut bait (shit or get off); fly off the handle; fob off; fuck off; get off; get off on; get off one's tail; get off the dime; get off the ground; give off; give the shirt off one's back; go off; go off the deep end; goof off; hands off; hats off to; haul off; have it (off); head off; high off the hog; hit it off; hold off; hot off the press; jerk off; jumping-off place; keep off; kick off; kill off; kiss off; knock it off; knock off; knock someone's block off; knock the socks off; laugh off; lay off; lead off; leave off; let off; level off; lift off; like a chicken with its head cut off; like water off a duck's back; load off one's mind; log in (off); make off; mouth off; nod off; no skin off one's nose; on (off) camera; on (off) duty; on the (off) chance; pack off; pair off; palm off; pants off; pass off; pay off; peel off; pick off; piss off; play off; polish off; pull off; push off; put off; put someone off; quick off the mark; rake off; rattle off; right away (off); rip off; round off; rub off; run away (off); run off; run off at the mouth; run off with; rush off one's feet; seal off; see someone off; sell off; send off; set off; shake off; shoot off one's mouth; show off; shrug off; sign off; slack off; slip out (off); sound off; spin off; split one's sides (laugh one's head off); sponge on (off); square off; squeeze off; stand off; stave off; stop off; straight off; swear off; switch on (off); tail off; take off; take off after; take the edge off; take up where one left off; talk someone's arm off; taper off; tear off; tee off; tell off; tell someone where to get off; throw off; trade off; wipe off the map. Also see under on.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cut Off, LA (CDP, FIPS 18930) Location: 29.52941 N, 90.33464 W
Population (1990): 5325 (1857 housing units)
Area: 33.2 sq km (land), 0.4 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 70345
Off
Off\, adv. [OE. of, orig. the same word as R. of, prep., AS. of, adv. & prep. [root]194. See Of.] In a general sense, denoting from or away from; as: 1. Denoting distance or separation; as, the house is a mile off. 2. Denoting the action of removing or separating; separation; as, to take off the hat or cloak; to cut off, to pare off, to clip off, to peel off, to tear off, to march off, to fly off, and the like. 3. Denoting a leaving, abandonment, departure, abatement, interruption, or remission; as, the fever goes off; the pain goes off; the game is off; all bets are off. 4. Denoting a different direction; not on or towards: away; as, to look off. 5. Denoting opposition or negation. [Obs.] The questions no way touch upon puritanism, either off or on. --Bp. Sanderson. From off, off from; off. "A live coal . . . taken with the tongs from off the altar." --Is. vi. 6. Off and on. (a) Not constantly; not regularly; now and then; occasionally. (b) (Naut.) On different tacks, now toward, and now away from, the land. To be off. (a) To depart; to escape; as, he was off without a moment's warning. (b) To be abandoned, as an agreement or purpose; as, the bet was declared to be off. [Colloq.] To come off, To cut off, To fall off, To go off, etc. See under Come, Cut, Fall, Go, etc. To get off. (a) To utter; to discharge; as, to get off a joke. (b) To go away; to escape; as, to get off easily from a trial. [Colloq.] To take off, to mimic or personate. To tell off (Mil.), to divide and practice a regiment or company in the several formations, preparatory to marching to the general parade for field exercises. --Farrow. To be well off, to be in good condition. To be ill off, To be badly off, to be in poor condition.Off
Off\, interj. Away; begone; -- a command to depart.Off
Off\, prep. Not on; away from; as, to be off one's legs or off the bed; two miles off the shore. --Addison. Off hand. See Offhand. Off side (Football), out of play; -- said when a player has got in front of the ball in a scrimmage, or when the ball has been last touched by one of his own side behind him. To be off color, to be of a wrong color. To be off one's food, to have no appetite. (Colloq.)Off
Off\, a. 1. On the farther side; most distant; on the side of an animal or a team farthest from the driver when he is on foot; in the United States, the right side; as, the off horse or ox in a team, in distinction from the nigh or near horse or ox; the off leg. 2. Designating a time when one is not strictly attentive to business or affairs, or is absent from his post, and, hence, a time when affairs are not urgent; as, he took an off day for fishing: an off year in politics. "In the off season." --Thackeray. Off side. (a) The right hand side in driving; the farther side. See Gee. (b) (Cricket) See Off, n.Off
Off\, n. (Cricket) The side of the field that is on the right of the wicket keeper.Copyright © 2008, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.













