offing

/ˈɒfɪŋ/

//ˈɒfɪŋ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"offing" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“offing” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #46,667. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#46,667
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
8
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The area of the sea in which a ship can be seen in the distance from land, excluding the parts nearest the shore, and beyond the anchoring ground.

Corpus desk

Index EN-offing · offing · English

offing · rank #46,667 · 7 variants · 8 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #46,667
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 8 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH offstage

Nearest frequency peer: offstage (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “offing”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “offing” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

offing vs owing
67% similar
offing vs owning
67% similar
offing vs outing
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for offing
PropertyValue
Headwordoffing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɒfɪŋ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#46,667
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs8
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “offing”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).offinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “offstage” (#46,668), “obverse” (#46,665), “oka” (#46,669). Among 1,431 “O” headwords, “offing” is #46,667. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around offing (IPA /ˈɒfɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #46,667 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for offing, with forms such as "fofing", "offign", and "offingg". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 8 confusable-pair relationships, "owing", "owning", "outing", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From off + -ing. Attested since before 1600. Early texts also spell the term offin and offen. The correct English form is offing, spelled O-F-F-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The area of the sea in which a ship can be seen in the distance from land, excluding the parts nearest the shore, and beyond the anchoring ground.
  2. 2
    The distance that a ship at sea keeps away from land, often because of navigational dangers, fog and other hazards; a position at a distance from shore.
  3. 3
    The foreseeable future. Chiefly in the phrase in the offing.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how offing appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. to see (a ship) in the offing
  2. I came to an Anchor in seven fathomes water in the offing to Sea.

Etymology

From off + -ing. Attested since before 1600. Early texts also spell the term offin and offen.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • fofing
  • offign
  • offingg
  • offinng
  • offnig
  • ofifng
  • ofing

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of offing - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

fofing2offign2offingg1offinng1offnig2ofifng2ofing1
Edit distance from "offing"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "offing"?
"offing" is spelled O-F-F-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɒfɪŋ/.
What does "offing" mean?
As a noun, "offing" means: The area of the sea in which a ship can be seen in the distance from land, excluding the parts nearest the shore, and beyond the anchoring ground.
What words are commonly confused with "offing"?
"offing" is commonly confused with "owing", "owning", "outing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "offing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "offing" is /ˈɒfɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "offing"?
From off + -ing. Attested since before 1600. Early texts also spell the term offin and offen. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "offing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Pappas#46,677parley#46,678Pavlov#46,682musing#46,643

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

Nat'l7 variantsmagus7 variantsMaasai7 variantsRoxas7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list