[n., adj. awf-set, of-; v. awf-set, of-] 
noun, adjective, verb, -set, -set⋅ting.| 1. | something that counterbalances, counteracts, or compensates for something else; compensating equivalent. |
| 2. | the start, beginning, or outset. |
| 3. | a short lateral shoot by which certain plants are propagated. |
| 4. | an offshoot or branch of a family or race. |
| 5. | any offshoot; branch. |
| 6. | Also called offset printing, offset lithography. Lithography.
|
| 7. | Also called setoff. Printing. an unintentional transfer of excess or undried ink from one printed sheet to another. |
| 8. | Geology.
|
| 9. | Machinery. a jog or short displacement in an otherwise straight and continuous line, as in a pipe, lever, or rod, made to avoid objects or to connect with other parts. |
| 10. | Architecture. setoff (def. 3). |
| 11. | Surveying.
|
| 12. | Naval Architecture. any of the coordinates by which any point on a hull being planned is located. |
| 13. | of, noting, or pertaining to an offset. |
| 14. | Lithography. pertaining to, printed by, or suitable for printing by offset. |
| 15. | placed away from a center line; off-center. |
| 16. | placed at an angle to something, as to the axis of a form, shape, or object; not parallel. |
| 17. | to counterbalance as an equivalent does; compensate for: The gains offset the losses. |
| 18. | to juxtapose with something else, as for purposes of comparison: to offset advantages against disadvantages. |
| 19. | Printing.
|
| 20. | Architecture. to build with a setoff, as a wall. |
| 21. | Surveying. to establish (a line) parallel to a main survey line at an offset. |
| 22. | to project as an offset or branch. |
| 23. | to counterbalance or compensate. |
| 24. | Printing. to make an offset. |
[set-awf, -of] | 1. | something that counterbalances or makes up for something else, as compensation for a loss. |
| 2. | Accounting. a counterbalancing debt or claim, esp. one that cancels an amount a debtor owes. |
| 3. | Also called offset. Architecture.
|
| 4. | something used to enhance the effect of another thing by contrasting it, as an ornament. |
| 5. | Printing. offset (def. 7). |
| off·set (ôf'sět', ŏf'-) n.
v. tr.
|
Offset
1. To liquidate a futures position by entering an equivalent, but opposite, transaction which eliminates the delivery obligation.
2. To reduce an investor's net position in an investment to zero, so that no further gains or losses will be experienced from that position.
Investopedia Commentary
1. Investors will offset futures contracts and other investment positions in order to remove themselves from any associated liabilities. Almost all futures positions are offset before the terms of the futures contract are realized. Despite the fact that most positions are offset near the delivery term, the benefits of the futures contract as a hedging mechanism are still realized.
2. If the initial investment was a purchase, a sale is made to neutralize the position to offset an initial sale, a purchase is made to neutralize the position. For example, if you wanted to offset a long position in a stock, you could short sell an identical number of shares. By doing so, your net ownership of the stock would be zero, and you would not incur any further gains or losses from the position.
Related Links
Futures Fundamentals
Becoming Fluent in Options on Futures
Getting Started in Foreign Exchange Futures
See also: Forward Contract, Futures Contract, Hedge, Long, National Futures Association, Outright Futures Position, Position, Short
Also spelled: off set, offsetting, off setting
offset
offset programming
An index or position in an array, string, or block of memory usually a non-negative integer.
E.g. the Perl function splice(ARRAY, OFFSET, LENGTH, LIST) replaces LENGTH elements starting at index OFFSET in array with LIST, where offset zero means the start of the array.
For an Intel x86 processor with a segmented address space the offset is the position of a byte relative to the start of the segment.
(2004-02-27)
