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• well-off
  well-off

  adjective

  having sufficient money for comfortable living; well-to-do.
• well off
  well off

  In fortunate circumstances, especially wealthy or prosperous, as in They're quite well off now. This phrase may be a shortening of come well off, that is, “emerge in good circumstances.” [First half of 1600s]

well-off

American  

[wel-awf, -of] / ˈwɛlˈɔf, -ˈɒf /

adjective

1. having sufficient money for comfortable living; well-to-do.

   Synonyms:

   comfortable, affluent, wealthy, prosperous

2. in a satisfactory, favorable, or good position or condition.

   If you have your health, you are well-off.

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well-off British  

adjective

1. in a comfortable or favourable position or state

2. financially well provided for; moderately rich

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well off Idioms  

1. In fortunate circumstances, especially wealthy or prosperous, as in They're quite well off now. This phrase may be a shortening of come well off, that is, “emerge in good circumstances.” [First half of 1600s]

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Etymology

Origin of well-off

First recorded in 1725–35

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

well-off well off

Some poorer areas had scored highly in her analysis compared to relatively well-off ones.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

Until the 1993 introduction of Addy Walker, a black doll whose first book narrates the character’s escape from slavery, all of the dolls were white and came with stories of well-off households.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

Finding well-off husbands is Elinor and Marianne’s only hope of returning to something like the comfort they have known.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

A stylish, well-off family braces for the worst when its youngest member is mauled by a dog during a glitzy lawn party.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

When he smiled, however, you saw the softness in his eyes, which made it clear that Lefty was in fact no gangster but the pampered, bookish son of comfortably well-off parents.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Tokyo's Nikkei 225, which is also heavily weighted to tech, ended in the red, though well off earlier lows.

From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026

Among families just a bit less well off, only around 40% have at least three children.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

He also had to stop twice on Sunday before finishing well off the pace but claimed ninth spot in the championship.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

The stock is up around 60% so far this year, but well off highs hit in 2021.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

There were thirty or forty jailkeepers and a hundred and fifty or sixty prisoners, none of them very well off, most of them sound asleep though it was not much past Fourth Hour.

From "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin

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Related Words

• affluent
• prosperous
• well-to-do

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