off

head

off (comparative öfter, superlative et öffste)

öfter (comparative)
et öffste (superlative)

Chiefly through German oft, from Middle High German ofte, from Old High German ofta, from Proto-Germanic *ufta.


off

(Hong Kong Cantonese, intransitive) to have day off

(Hong Kong Cantonese, transitive) to switch off; to turn off

/ɔː⁵⁵ fuː²¹/

/ɔː⁵⁵ fuː²¹/


off

No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or[…]. And at last I began to realize in my harassed soul that all elusion was futile, and to take such holidays as I could get, when he was off with a girl, in a spirit of thankfulness.

1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, page 46:

So this was my future home, I thought![…]Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.

1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

He drove off in a cloud of smoke.

In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.

Please switch off the light when you leave.

The dinosaurs died off long ago.

Into a state of non-operation or non-existence.

He bit off the end of the carrot.

Some branches were sawn off.

Please take your clothes off so that I can examine you.

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:

So as to remove or separate, or be removed or separated.

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.

dhe-ves

in a direction away from the speaker or object

yn farow

into a state of non-operation or non-existence

(older Received Pronunciation, General American) -ɔːf

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.


off

All the lights are off.

(predicative only) Inoperative, disabled.

The party's off because the hostess is sick.

(predicative only) Cancelled; not happening.

Your feet will feel better once those tight boots are off.

The drink spilled out of the bottle because the top was off.

This calculation is off: the numbers don't add up.

Is it right to say 'the amount of cars'? It sounds off to me.

The guitar isn't tuned properly. The bottom E is off.

Denoting something faulty, unsatisfactory, objectionable etc.

Not correct; not properly formed; not logical, harmonious, etc.

I felt that his comments were a bit off.

(predicative only) Inappropriate; untoward.

sales are off this quarter

Less than normal, in temperament or in result.

(in phrases such as 'off day') Designating a time when one is not performing to the best of one's abilities.

This milk is off!

(by extension, Australia, slang) Disgusting, repulsive, abhorrent.

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 with Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Serhiy Kudelia, The Strategy of Campaigning:

(in phrases such as 'well off', 'poorly off', etc., and in 'how?' questions) Circumstanced.

'poorly off'; and in 'how?' questions; 'poorly off'; and in 'how?' questions

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:

"But I'm off, Mr. Malone. We sit once a week and have done for four years without a break. Eight o'clock Thursdays."

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

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:

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:

John's off today. He's back on Wednesday.

Temporarily not attending a usual place, such as work or school, especially owing to illness or holiday.

The singer is off. He can't come today.

(informal, predicative only) Unavailable; unable to stay in a band or come to a club due to being busy with activities or schedules.

He took an off day for fishing.  an off year in politics; the off season

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.

— I'll have the chicken please.

— Sorry, chicken's off today.

(predicative only) Presently unavailable. (of a dish on a menu)

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.

(British, in relation to a vehicle) On the side furthest from the kerb (the right-hand side if one drives on the left).

(cricket) In, or towards the half of the field away from the batsman's legs; the right side for a right-handed batsman.

en-adj

off (comparative more off, superlative most off)

more off (comparative)
most off (superlative)


off

He's off the roof now.

I took it off the table.

Keep off the grass.

Not positioned upon, or away from a position upon.

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.

Detached, separated, excluded or disconnected from; away from a position of attachment or connection to.

off work; off school

Temporarily not attending (a usual place), especially owing to illness or holiday.

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!

Used to indicate the location or direction of one thing relative to another, implying adjacency or accessibility via.

The island is 23 miles off the cape.

Used to express location at sea relative to land or mainland.

There's 20% off the list price.

He's been off his feed since Tuesday.

He's off his meds again.

He didn't buy it off him. He stole it off him.

(colloquial, more properly 'from') Out of the possession of.

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.

Placed after a number (of products or parts, as if a unit), in commerce or engineering.

The guy was off a perc.

The team won off a late-game fumble by an opposing player.

The economy is rising off the strength of the tech sector.

poissa

detached, separated, excluded or disconnected from

-sta

used to indicate the location or direction of one thing relative to another

-lta

used to express location at sea relative to land or mainland

poissa (+ elative or ablative; cannot be used in all contexts, else use other phrasing, like "no longer taking meds")


off

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.

2017 September 19, Gwilym Mumford, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle review – spy sequel reaches new heights of skyscraping silliness”, in the Guardian:

Can you off the light?

(transitive, Singapore, Philippines, Nigeria) To switch off.

en-verb

off (third-person singular simple present offs, present participle offing, simple past and past participle offed)

offs (present singular third-person)
offing (participle present)
offed (participle past)
offed (past)

приши́ть (prišítʹ) (colloquial, lit.: to sew on)

замочи́ть (zamočítʹ) (slang, lit.: to dunk)


off

He has been very obviously an untrustworthy narrator right from the off.

2023 Royal Ascot suit ... are you ready for the off?(title)

2022 December 1, “2023 Royal Ascot suit ... are you ready for the off?”, in anthonyformalwear.co.uk, archived from the original on 2022-01-24:

(usually in phrases such as 'from the off', 'at the off', etc.) Beginning; starting point.

usually in phrases such as 'from the off'; 'at the off'; usually in phrases such as 'from the off'; 'at the off'


off

Coordinate term: on

ich muss gleich off gehen

(Internet slang, especially video games) Clipping of offline.


off

(subordinating) Introduces an indirect question, a doubt. if, whether.

From Old Limburgish ova, from Proto-Germanic *jabai.


off

(theater) off-Broadway; minor-league; small-time