What does “off” mean?
- 1
adverbaway from a place or position
He jumped off the wall.
- 2
adverbnot working or not switched on
Turn off the lights when you leave.
- 3
adjectiveaway from work or school
I’m taking Friday off.
Off at a glance
- Part of speech
- adverb & adjective
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /ɔf/ · AWF
How to use “off” correctly
Don’t confuse “off” (/ɔf/) with “of” (/əv/): “Get off the bus,” “a piece of cake.”
Common phrases with “off”
- turn off
- day off
- get off
- take off
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Antonyms (opposite meaning)
Idioms with “off”
- Blow off steam: Do something active or noisy to get rid of stress, anger or energy.
- Get something off your chest: Tell someone about a worry or problem so you feel better.
- Bite off more than you can chew: Try to do more than you are able to manage.
- A chip off the old block: A person who is very similar to their parent in character or behaviour.
“off” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- also adverbA1in addition; as well
- how adverbA1used to ask about the way something is done or happens
- just adverbA1a very short time ago
- not adverbA1used to make a word, phrase or sentence negative
- out adverbA1away from the inside of a place or container
- pretty adverbA1fairly or quite, but not extremely
- really adverbA1very or very much
- so adverbA1very or to such a great degree