| / English Dictionary |
OFF
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
Irregular inflected form: offer
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Not performing or scheduled for duties
Example:
He's off every Tuesday
Classified under:
Similar:
inactive (not engaged in full-time work)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Not in operation or operational
Example:
the lights are off
Classified under:
Similar:
disconnected (not plugged in or connected to a power source)
Antonym:
on (in operation or operational)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(of events) no longer planned or scheduled
Example:
the wedding is definitely off
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Antonym:
on ((of events) planned or scheduled)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Below a satisfactory level
Example:
his performance was off
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unsatisfactory (not giving satisfaction)
Sense 5
Meaning:
In an unpalatable state
Example:
sour milk
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
soured (having turned bad)
II. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Kill intentionally and with premeditation
Example:
The mafia boss ordered his enemies murdered
Synonyms:
bump off; dispatch; hit; murder; off; polish off; remove; slay
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "off" is one way to...):
kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "off"):
burke (murder without leaving a trace on the body)
execute (murder in a planned fashion)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s somebody
III. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
No longer on or in contact or attached
Example:
he shaved off his mustache
Classified under:
Sense 2
Meaning:
From a particular thing or place or position ('forth' is obsolete)
Example:
go forth and preach
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Domain usage:
archaicism; archaism (the use of an archaic expression)
Sense 3
Meaning:
At a distance in space or time
Example:
away back in the 18th century
Synonyms:
away; off
Classified under:
Adverbs
Context examples:
The more something sticks to a surface, the more water it takes to rinse it off.
(Materials scientists invent new coating for self-cleaning, water-efficient toilets, Wikinews)
Scientists believe air pollution may cause glaucoma due to the constriction of blood vessels killing off the retina cells or by chemicals being directly toxic to nerves.
(Air Pollution Can Trigger Glaucoma, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
The bronchi are two tubes that branch off the trachea, or windpipe.
(Bronchial Disorders, NIH)
Then the driver cracked his whip and called to his horses, and off they swept on their way to Bukovina.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
John is just walked off, but he will be back in a moment.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
PC-SPES has been studied in the treatment of prostate cancer, but has been taken off the market in the U.S. because of safety concerns.
(PC-SPES, NCI Dictionary)
A CT number underestimation artifact resulting from the presence of a dense object off center in a scan field.
(Partial Volume Artifact, NCI Thesaurus)
From experts to other parents, people are always ready to offer advice.
(Parenting, NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development)
The man’s face peeled off under the sponge like the bark from a tree.
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A tiny piece of a cell found in the blood that breaks off from a large cell found in the bone marrow.
(Platelet, NCI Dictionary)
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