off
adverb · adjective · verb · noun
Simple meaning
In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
awfIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɔf
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.
So as to remove or separate, or be removed or separated.
Into a state of non-operation or non-existence.
adjective
predicative only
Inoperative, disabled.
predicative only
Cancelled; not happening.
predicative only
Inappropriate; untoward.
in phrases such as 'off day'
Designating a time when one is not performing to the best of one's abilities.
(in phrases such as 'well off', 'poorly off', 'comfortably off', etc., and in 'how?' questions) Circumstanced.
Started on the way.
verb
Kill intentionally and with premeditation
noun
(usually in phrases such as 'from the off', 'at the off', etc.) Beginning; starting point.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.
Used this way, off is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use off
- “The boat was 5 miles off (or away).”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: in a direction away from the speaker
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.