off

A1 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

Also spelled off’n

US /ɔf/ UK /ɒf/ See IPA manual

Freq #122

Meanings

1

adv
Away from a place, person, or thing.

He waved goodbye and drove off down the road.
2

adv
So as to be removed or separated from something.

Please take off your shoes before coming in.
3

adj
Not working or not switched on.

Make sure the lights are off before you leave.
4

adj
Not at work or not on duty.

I'm off every Tuesday, so let's meet then.
5

adj
Cancelled; no longer going to happen.

The match is off because of the heavy rain.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · away from a place, person,... away

5 adj · cancelled; no longer going... cancelled

More out

Opposites

in on

Word family

Derived forms off-by-oneoff-campusoff-leaseoff-licenceoff-saleoff-streetoff-the-shelfoff-tradeoffishoffnessoffyonce-off

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Germanic *ab Proto-West Germanic *ab Old English æf Old English of Middle English of English off 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 aff (“away, off”), Saterland Frisian oawe, ou (“from”), West Frisian ôf (“away, off”), Dutch af (“from, off”), German ab (“from, off”), German Low German, Luxembourgish of (“off”), Yiddish אָפּ (op,…

of Old English *ab Proto-Germanic *h₂epo Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

External links

# off

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adv, adj
**IPA (US):** /ɔf/
**IPA (UK):** /ɒf/
**Frequency rank:** 122

## Meanings
1. Away from a place, person, or thing.
2. So as to be removed or separated from something.
3. Not working or not switched on.
4. Not at work or not on duty.
5. Cancelled; no longer going to happen.

## Examples
- He waved goodbye and drove off down the road.
- Please take off your shoes before coming in.
- Make sure the lights are off before you leave.
- I'm off every Tuesday, so let's meet then.
- The match is off because of the heavy rain.

## Synonyms
- away
- out

## Antonyms
- in
- on

## Derived Forms
- off-by-one
- off-campus
- off-lease
- off-licence
- off-sale
- off-street
- off-the-shelf
- off-trade
- offish
- offness
- offy
- once-off

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: of
- Root: *ab
- Root: *h₂epo

## Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó Proto-Germanic *ab Proto-West Germanic *ab Old English æf Old English of Middle English of English off 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 aff (“away, off”), Saterland Frisian oawe, ou (“from”), West Frisian ôf (“away, off”), Dutch af (“from, off”), German ab (“from, off”), German Low German, Luxembourgish of (“off”), Yiddish אָפּ (op,…

## AI Etymology
Off comes 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. Modern senses include away from a place, person, or thing and so as to be removed or separated from something. The wider word family includes derivatives such as off-by-one, off-campus, off-lease, off-licence, off-sale, and off-street.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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off

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