How to Use on-off in a Sentence

on-off

adjective
  • That gap of 14 percentage points is the largest on-off swing on the team.
    — Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2023
  • Progress before now has been limited in a series of on-off talks over months.
    — Nidal Al-Mughrabi, USA TODAY, 30 Nov. 2024
  • Karla Souza plays de la Torre’s on-off girlfriend.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2026
  • But La Niña’s demise doesn’t flip an on-off switch in the atmosphere.
    — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 10 Apr. 2025
  • On the right is the shifter, throttle, and headlight auto on-off button.
    — Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, 6 Oct. 2023
  • Connect the transformer's two red lead wires to the mains-load side of the on-off switch, and the two black leads to the neutral side.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 31 Oct. 2018
  • Jenner and Scott have been on-off through their relationship.
    — Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 8 Apr. 2023
  • Despite their simple on-off style, the shoes have a rugged, resilient design that’s fit to take on long walks and tough trails.
    — Kyra Surgent, InStyle, 16 June 2026
  • But the on-off numbers tell a different story about which player is more valuable.
    — Cj Moore, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Sherman was quick to point out, however, that privacy is not a simple on-off switch.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 22 Feb. 2019
  • One button is for on-off, while the remaining two buttons control the heat settings.
    — Jamie Wilson, Glamour, 2 June 2025
  • Donald Trump‘s on-off bromance with Elon Musk appears to be very much on.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 Sep. 2024
  • Chavez and Cash had been in an on-off relationship that was volatile, prosecutors said.
    — Sara Schilling, Sacbee.com, 30 June 2025
  • Still, there’s something unsettling about a creature with an on-off button and a spine that twists under your fingers.
    — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Justin and Selena's eight-year on-off relationship comes to its final end.
    — Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 3 Mar. 2023
  • The on-off power, exacerbated by lots of mass in the rear and a light front end, make oversteer a reality.
    — Robert Ross, Robb Report, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Meanwhile, customers have slammed its on-off Dollar Menu for not having a single $1 item.
    — Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024
  • What followed was an on-off relationship that lasted seven years, the outlet noted.
    — Sharareh Drury, People.com, 27 May 2025
  • Huynh, who has been in an on-off relationship with Combs since 2014, was not called as a witness.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 4 Aug. 2025
  • Love, and more specifically the on-off situationship at its heart, is the only thing this drama cares about.
    — Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Mar. 2024
  • The base has just two buttons, an on-off switch on the flosser’s handle, and a pressure dial on the base that allows users to fine-tune the force of the water spray.
    — Theresa Holland, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2023
  • The former couple, who were in an on-off relationship, split shortly after their engagement.
    — Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 7 May 2026
  • In experiments, the device achieved an on-off switching ratio above 19 decibels.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Gomez’s last public relationship was with on-off ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber in 2018.
    — Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Scott and Jenner have an on-off relationship and share two children, Stormi and Aire.
    — Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 16 May 2023
  • His on-off girlfriend Anna (Yara Bakri) knows enough to keep her distance during his volatile panic attacks.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
  • The lamp is fitted with a cream linen lamp shade that gently filters the light, hiding the on-off switch located on the socket, and is secured with silver hardware.
    — Maggie Horton, People.com, 9 July 2025
  • From their on-off beginning to public spats and many, many declarations of profuse love, the two really have been together through thick and thin.
    — Stacey Leasca, Glamour, 21 Jan. 2025
  • Last month, Jenner and her on-off boyfriend Travis Scott, the father of her two children, were reported to have broken up again.
    — Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 16 Feb. 2023
  • Scientists knew that people with this chromosome produced an abnormal enzyme that regulates one of the on-off switches for cell growth.
    — Sydney Lupkin, NPR, 10 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'on-off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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