off 1 of 3

adverb

ˈȯf How to pronounce off (audio)
Definition of offnext
as in away
from this or that place move off a few yards before I throw the football

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off

2 of 3

adjective

1
as in wrong
falling short of a standard the milk tasted off

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dormant
not being in a state of use, activity, or employment the computer is off, so you'll have to turn it on in order to use it

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in erroneous
not being in agreement with what is true that claim that everyone is actually related to everyone else seems a bit off

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in small
small in degree on the off chance that you do get straight A's, you can skip a grade

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in spicy
hinting at or intended to call to mind matters regarded as indecent a telltale smirk suggested that there was something off about his parting shot

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

off

3 of 3

verb

slang
as in to assassinate
to put to death deliberately the hit man was rumored to have offed at least three people in the last year alone

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of off
Adverb
Crystal is, after all, a wealthy, heavily insured man, and a focus on the loss of stuff – none of his family or friends were injured in the blaze – could, in less skilled hands, be more than a little off-putting. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026 Theoretically, a resident could be assigned three 24-hour call shifts in a week separated by only 12 hours off in between without violating an 80-hour workweek. — Arifeen Rahman, STAT, 20 Oct. 2026
Adjective
Bell didn’t catch either of the two off-target throws to him. — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026 But Reese’s championship debut could help show how much of her substantial off-court following—and the broader interest surrounding the WNBA—will follow her onto its biggest stage. — Jackson Thompson Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
Verb
The masked murderer attempted to kill Sidney (Neve Campbell) in a bathroom in the original 1996 Scream, and succeeded in offing Phil (Omar Epps) in a movie theater bathroom stall in the 1997 sequel. — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 25 Feb. 2026 Keen observers, Anglophiles, and anyone who watches movies made before 1972 will notice more than a casual similarity to Kind Hearts and Coronets, the old Ealing comedy in which an enterprising young Dennis Price attempts to off his relatives in order to claim the family fortune. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off
  1. away
  2. wrong
  3. dormant
  4. erroneous
  5. small
  6. spicy
  7. assassinate
  8. down
Adverb
  • The White House has grappled with how to address the cost of living ahead of the midterms, which are less than two weeks away.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • The party is currently polling at approximately 35% in voter intention surveys ahead of next year’s presidential election — far away the first-place party.
    — Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of away
Adjective
  • Without it, the language model is a very expensive way to write faster emails to the wrong people.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Those chats tended to include what was going right or wrong or could be better.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of wrong
Adjective
  • The issues may have been lying dormant The vulnerabilities have been known about since at least 2024, according to the PHP Foundation.
    — Kaitlyn Huamani, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
  • So Hanawalt reactivated her dormant Facebook account and began scrolling through local horse sale groups.
    — Rachel Brodsky, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of dormant
Adjective
  • Bisignano, a former Wall Street CEO who has been overhauling how the agency operates, also said SSA was working to fix erroneous records.
    — Fernanda Tronco, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In his own review of the case, Mandell failed to flag an erroneous jury instruction that four years later would lead to the conviction being overturned.
    — Samantha Melamed, ProPublica, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of erroneous
Adjective
  • Manfred says small-market success is rare, while the union argues the Rays-Brewers World Series matchup shows baseball can work without a cap.
    — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Massachusetts ranks third for the annual cost of raising a small child but 18th over 18 years.
    — Martie Bowser, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of small
Adjective
  • The restaurant also makes its own salsas, including roja, verde and a spicier green variety.
    — Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The property collaborated with Nobu and the food is clean and delicious—unsurprisingly, lots of raw fish and produce like spicy microgreens and August-sweet tomatoes grown at Sensei’s hydroponic farm down the road.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of spicy
Verb
  • Riehle made it to Broadway in 1986 with a role in the Emily Mann drama Execution of Justice, which centered on the trial of Dan White, who assassinated San Francisco mayor George Moscone and city supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978.
    — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Earlier that year, King had been assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
    — Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of assassinate
Adverb
  • Charlotte was down by 35 points after three quarters, and the entire fourth quarter amounted to garbage time.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Oct. 2026
  • But once those bills stop after age 5, the lower rent pulls the long-run totals down sharply.
    — Martie Bowser, Fortune, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of down

Browse Nearby Words

of course
off
offal
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Cite this Entry

“Off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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