off-center
Americanadjective
-
not centered; diverging from the exact center.
-
unconventional; eccentric.
off-center characters who disrupt other people's lives.
Etymology
Origin of off-center
First recorded in 1925–30
Explanation
Off-center things aren't in the exact middle. The part in your hair may be off-center, and so may be your political leanings. The meaning of off-center is fairly obvious: not right in the center, but off to one side. It's frustrating to watch a movie that's projected off-center, and if you're very particular, it might drive you crazy to see a knocker that's off-center on your friend's front door. This adjective also means "a little weird" or "eccentric." An off-center sense of humor is wacky and strange, and if you're feeling off-center, you might be coming down with the flu.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s about the fact that the Lotus’s polar axis runs exactly through the driver’s inboard hip, so that the machine rotates around them and not some invisible pivot point, just off-center.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Physicists can adjust the cylinder’s resonant frequency, trying to match and amplify the tiny radio signal from any axions, by repositioning one or two off-center tuning rods.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 20, 2024
Scientists have the first direct evidence that the powerful magnetic fields created in off-center collisions of atomic nuclei induce an electric current in "deconfined" nuclear matter.
From Science Daily ● May 17, 2024
But something that has been a glimmer of light for me has been seeing how strange films or films that are a little off-center are rising to the surface in interesting ways.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
The two off-center triangles also lean in opposite directions, each balancing the other.
From "The Annotated Mona Lisa" by Carol Strickland and John Boswell
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
