offset
noun · verb · adverb · adjective
Simple meaning
Anything that acts as counterbalance.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
awfsehtSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɔfˈsɛt
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.
noun
Anything that acts as counterbalance; a compensating equivalent.
international trade
The time at which something is supposed to begin
international trade
A form of countertrade arrangement, in which the seller agrees to purchase within a set time frame products of a certain value from the buying country. This kind of agreement may be used in large international public sector contracts such as arms sales.
The distance by which one thing is out of alignment with another.
An abrupt bend in an object, such as a rod, by which one part is turned aside out of line, but nearly parallel, with the rest; the part thus bent aside.
A spur from a range of hills or mountains.
verb
Compensate for or counterbalance
transitive
To counteract or compensate for, by applying a change in the opposite direction.
transitive
To place out of line.
Create an offset in
transitive
To form an offset in (a wall, rod, pipe, etc.).
adverb
Away from or off from the set of a movie, film, video, or play.
adjective
Away from or off from the set of a movie, film, video, or play.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Varies by meaning
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Anything that acts as counterbalance; a compensating equivalent.
Used this way, offset 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
- Matter-of-fact
- 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 offset
- “His skills offset his opponent's superior strength.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Offset printing by lithography.
A plate makes an inked impression on a rubber-blanketed cylinder, which in turn transfers it to the paper.
A minimum credit balance that a bank may require a borrower to keep on deposit as a condition for granting a loan.
A method of offset printing using photomechanical plates.
A method of offset printing using photomechanical plates.
The legal right of a bank to seize deposited funds to cover a loan that is in default.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Antonyms
Sense: anything that acts as counterbalance
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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.