off

/ɒf/ adverb, preposition

Definition

NOT TOUCHING › not touching or connected to something or not on a surface: Keep off the grass! A button came off my coat.

AWAY › away from a place or position: He ran off to find his friend. I'll be off (= will go) soon.

NOT OPERATING › not operating or being used: Make sure you switch your computer off.

NEAR › near to a building or place: an island off the coast of Spain

PRICE › If a price has a certain amount of money off, it costs that much less than the usual price: These jeans were $10 off.

DISTANCE/TIME › far in distance or time: You can see the village off in the distance. My holidays seem a long way off.

go off sth/sb UK › to stop liking something or someone: I've gone off meat.

NOT AT WORK › not at work: I had 6 months off when my son was born. → See also off the cuff → See also on and off

(Definition of off adverbpreposition from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

to do something without worrying about the risk or negative results

Read our blog about how the English language behaves.

Find words and meanings that have just started to be used in English, and let us know what you think of them.