# offset

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɒf.sɛt/ · frequency rank #7,256

## Definitions
1. Anything that acts as counterbalance; a compensating equivalent.
2. A form of countertrade arrangement, in which the seller agrees to purchase within a set time frame products of a certain value from the buying country. This kind of agreement may be used in large international public sector contracts such as arms sales.
3. A time at which something begins; outset.
4. The offset printing process, in which ink is carried from a metal plate to a rubber blanket and from there to the printing surface.
5. The difference between a target memory address and a base address.
6. The displacement between the base level of a measurement and the signal's real base level.
7. The distance by which one thing is out of alignment with another.
8. A short distance measured at right angles from a line actually run to some point in an irregular boundary, or to some object.
9. An abrupt bend in an object, such as a rod, by which one part is turned aside out of line, but nearly parallel, with the rest; the part thus bent aside.
10. A short prostrate shoot that takes root and produces a tuft of leaves, etc.
11. A spur from a range of hills or mountains.
12. A horizontal ledge on the face of a wall, formed by a diminution of its thickness, or by the weathering or upper surface of a part built out from it; a set-off.
13. A terrace on a hillside.

## Etymology
From off- + set, used to construct the noun form of the verb to set off. Compare Middle English ofsetten (“to encumber, harass, beset, besiege”), from Old English ofsettan (“to press, oppress, overwhelm, crush”).

## Easily confused with
- **onset** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/offset-vs-onset)
- **outset** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/offset-vs-outset)
- **offer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/offer-vs-offset)
- **offbeat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/offbeat-vs-offset)

## Common misspellings (7)
`fofset`, `offest`, `offsett`, `offsset`, `offste`, `ofset`, `ofsfet`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/offset