off
/ɔf/adverb, adjective, preposition, verb, noun
off is spelled O-F-F: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 851 times per million words in written English, the 126th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “of vs off” about 320 times a month (Google, United States). As an adverb, off means “In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in off?
| Letters | 3: O-F-F |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 851 times per million words; the 126th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is off?
Off appears 851 times per million words in written English, the 126th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce off?
- UK /ɒf/
- UK /ɔːf/
- US /ɔf/
Off has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Pvanp7-off.wav, En-au-off.ogg, En-us-off.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with off
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with off?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as off from its last stressed vowel (/ɔf/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of off
- offn US
- more off comparative
- most off superlative
- offs present, singular, he/she/it
- offing participle, present
- offed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does off mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a direction away from the speaker or other reference point.
He drove off in a cloud of smoke.
- 2
Into a state of non-operation or non-existence.
Please switch off the light when you leave.
- 3
So as to remove or separate, or be removed or separated.
He bit off the end of the carrot.
- 4
Specifying the number of some item in bills, parts lists, etc.
3 off 20 amp fuses
- 5
Offstage.
noises off
- 6
Used in various other ways specific to individual idiomatic phrases, e.g. bring off, show off, put off, tell off, etc. See the entry for the individual phrase.
adjective
- 1
Inoperative, disabled.
All the lights are off.
- 2
Cancelled; not happening.
The party's off because the hostess is sick.
- 3
Not fitted; not being worn.
Your feet will feel better once those tight boots are off.
- 4
Not correct; not properly formed; not logical, harmonious, etc.
This calculation is off: the numbers don't add up.
- 5
Inappropriate; untoward.
I felt that his comments were a bit off.
- 6
Less than normal, in temperament or in result.
sales are off this quarter
- 7
Designating a time when one is not performing to the best of one's abilities.
- 8
UKRancid, rotten, gone bad.
This milk is off!
preposition
- 1
Not positioned upon; away from a position upon.
He's off the roof now.
- 2
Detached, separated, excluded or disconnected from; away from a position of attachment or connection to.
The phone is off the hook
- 3
Outside the area or region of.
The suspect is now believed to be off the campus.
- 4
Temporarily not attending (a usual place), especially owing to illness or holiday.
off work; off school
- 5
Used to indicate the location or direction of one thing relative to another, implying adjacency or accessibility via.
His office is off this corridor on the right.
- 6
Used to express location at sea relative to land or mainland.
The island is 23 miles off the cape.
- 7
Used to indicate separation from a natural home or origin.
He used to be gone a lot of the time, off working on an oil rig.
- 8
Removed or subtracted from.
There's 20% off the list price.
verb
- 1
slangTo kill.
- 2
To switch off.
Can you off the light?
noun
- 1
Beginning; starting point.
He has been very obviously an untrustworthy narrator right from the off.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Off in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | weg, davon , aus , ranzig, schlecht, verdorben |
| French | éteindre , fermé , hors- |
| Portuguese | desligado , estragado , apagar , desligar |
| Spanish | apagado , disonar, (estar/andar) mal/malamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does off come from?
From Middle English of, from Old English of, af, æf (“from, off, away”), from Proto-West Germanic *ab, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“from”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo (“from, off, back”). Doublet of of.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).