off-base

[ awf-beys, of- ]

adjective

1. located outside the perimeters of a military base:

   off-base housing for officers.

Word History and Origins

Origin of off-base¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Idioms and Phrases

Wrong, relying on a mistaken premise, as in His description of the accounting system was totally off base . This metaphoric term originated in baseball, where a runner who steps off a base can be put out. [c. 1940]

Example Sentences

Fox News, which had championed, and loudly predicted, a Mitt Romney win, was proven embarrassingly off-base.

From The Daily Beast

But Boot's post is hilariously off-base: its argument can't even be reconciled with the very information he presents.

From The Daily Beast

As many fact checkers quickly elucidated, the assertion was wildly off-base.

From The Daily Beast

But the caricature of GM as a dysfunctional jobs exporter is off-base.

From The Daily Beast

It is hard enough to be told that you are off-base and that your behavior has been bad when an adult says the damning words.

From Project Gutenberg

These excuses for not dealing with off-base discrimination continued throughout the decade.

From Project Gutenberg

The committee wanted the recommendations on off-base discrimination contained in its initial report also applied overseas.

From Project Gutenberg

The decision to circumscribe the use of economic sanctions against off-base discrimination made sense.

From Project Gutenberg

The local commander also arranged for the desegregation of some off-base social facilities in a effort to improve black morale.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• erroneous
• inaccurate
• mistaken
• sadly mistaken
• wrong