offshore
/ɒfˈʃɔː(ɹ)/adjective, adverb, verb, noun
offshore is spelled O-F-F-S-H-O-R-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, offshore means “Moving away from the shore” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in offshore?
| Letters | 8: O-F-F-S-H-O-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.1 times per million words; the 8,146th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
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).
How common is offshore?
Offshore appears 8.1 times per million words in written English, the 8,146th 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 offshore?
- /ɒfˈʃɔː(ɹ)/
Offshore has 2 syllables (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)-Vealhurl-offshore.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with offshore
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: off-shore (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of offshore
- off-shore
- offshores present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- offshoring participle, present
- offshored participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does offshore mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Moving away from the shore.
- 2
Located in the sea away from the coast.
an offshore oil rig
- 3
Located in another country, especially one having beneficial tax laws or labor costs.
adverb
- 1
Away from the shore.
- 2
At some distance from the shore.
verb
- 1
To move industrial production from one region to another or from one country to another, in order to seek lower business costs, such as labor.
noun
- 1
An area of or portion of sea away from the shore.
- 2
An island, outcrop, or other land away from shore.
- 3
Something or someone in, from, or associated with another country.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Offshore in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | ablandig , offshore , Off-Shore- |
| Spanish | alejándose de la costa , mar adentro, en ultramar, en altamar, costa afuera , deslocalizado |
| French | offshore, au large , délocaliser |
| Portuguese | deslocalizar |
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 offshore come from?
From off- + shore.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).