to present for acceptance or rejection; proffer.
He offered me a cigarette.
to propose or put forward for consideration.
to offer a suggestion.
to propose or volunteer (to do something).
She offered to accompany me.
to make a show of intention (to do something).
We did not offer to go first.
to give, make, or promise.
She offered no response.
to present solemnly as an act of worship or devotion, as to God, a deity or a saint; sacrifice.
to present for sale.
He offered the painting to me at a reduced price.
to tender or bid as a price.
to offer ten dollars for a radio.
to attempt or threaten to do, engage in, or inflict.
to offer battle.
to put forth; exert.
to offer resistance.
to present to sight or notice.
to introduce or present for exhibition or performance.
to render (homage, thanks, etc.).
to present or volunteer (oneself ) to someone as a spouse.
to present itself; occur.
Whenever an opportunity offered, he slipped off to town.
to present something as an act of worship or devotion; sacrifice.
to make a proposal or suggestion.
to suggest oneself to someone for marriage; propose.
Archaic. to make an attempt (followed byat ).
an act or instance of offering.
an offer of help.
the condition of being offered.
an offer for sale.
something offered.
a proposal or bid to give or pay something as the price of something else; bid.
an offer of $90,000 for the house.
Law. a proposal that requires only acceptance in order to create a contract.
an attempt or endeavor.
a show of intention.
a proposal of marriage.
to present or proffer (something, someone, oneself, etc) for acceptance or rejection
(tr) to present as part of a requirement
she offered English as a second subject
(tr) to provide or make accessible
this stream offers the best fishing
(intr) to present itself
if an opportunity should offer
(tr) to show or express willingness or the intention (to do something)
(tr) to put forward (a proposal, opinion, etc) for consideration
(tr) to present for sale
(tr) to propose as payment; bid or tender
to present (a prayer, sacrifice, etc) as or during an act of worship
(tr) to show readiness for
to offer battle
archaic (intr) to make a proposal of marriage
(tr; sometimes foll by up or to) engineering to bring (a mechanical piece) near to or in contact with another, and often to proceed to fit the pieces together
something, such as a proposal or bid, that is offered
the act of offering or the condition of being offered
contract law a proposal made by one person that will create a binding contract if accepted unconditionally by the person to whom it is made See also acceptance
a proposal of marriage
short for offer price
for sale at a reduced price
Offer, proffer, tender mean to present for acceptance or refusal. Offer is a common word in general use for presenting something to be accepted or rejected: to offer assistance. Proffer, with the same meaning, is now chiefly a literary word: to proffer one's services. Tender (no longer used in reference to concrete objects) is a ceremonious term for a more or less formal or conventional act: to tender one's resignation.
First recorded before 900; Middle English offren, Old English offrian “to present in worship,” from Latin offerre, equivalent to of- of- + ferre “to bring”; see bear 1
You make an offer when you present your willingness to do something. People selling a house wait for the best offer. One person offers something, and another person accepts or rejects it. It's polite to offer guests something to drink and to offer a friend some space under your umbrella. A marriage proposal is a type of offer. A threat of violence is "an offer you can't refuse" in The Godfather. This word can mean a religious act as well, or — more grossly — the kind of offering a cat makes when it offers a dead mouse to its owner.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The firm will offer up to $3bn next year, with no additional payments due before 2028, it said.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Brunswick declined to offer sales figures, but CEO David Foulkes said in an interview that “increasing power beyond where other people can go” has helped the company boost its leading share of the engine market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Existing theories of satellite formation offer several possible answers, but recent research into stellar magnetic fields suggests that some of those ideas may need to be reconsidered.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
But then Florida homeschoolers tried to enroll, so Helton transformed the business to also offer in-person teaching two days a week for homeschool students out of a sleek coworking space.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
“I’m not going to argue with you. You will decline the offer to that school, since you didn’t have my permission to apply in the first place.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Listed with David Offer of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, the property centers around a stunning great room that features wraparound windows and opens up into a “cook’s kitchen,” a dining area, and a family room.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
Offer to look over and send out her résumé.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 25, 2026
Offer letters and emails explain what a parent needs to do next to accept or decline the place.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
Appeared in the January 30, 2026, print edition as 'Tom Homan’s Good Offer to Minneapolis'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
Offer it each phantom crumb and shield it from harm with your body.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
“A true piece of livable art, this one-of-a-kind Malibu retreat offers museum-worthy design in an extraordinary coastal setting,” the listing continues.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Sinai.ai says it only offers books that are either in the public domain or ones where the author, their estate, or the publisher signed off first.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Founded in 1919, it offers numerous education, business, agriculture and infrastructure loan programs to support the economic development of the state and its citizens.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
Julian Brandt has offers from both Leeds United and Ajax after the 30-year-old Germany midfielder left Borussia Dortmund as a free agent.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
“Hello? Do you know how many offers I’ve had since I starred in those commercials for Mr. Lemoncello?”
From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein
The US leader has since changed his tone and during their last encounter in Turkey earlier this month, he offered words of encouragement, saying he had done "an amazing job".
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
In the past, Arsenal have offered players very generous image rights deals.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The Guthrie family has offered a $1 million reward for information leading to Nancy Guthrie’s recovery, in addition to a Federal Bureau of Investigation reward of $100,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The successful flotation raised about $8.5 billion for the 7% of shares that were offered although the over-allotment of shares, allows underwriters to increase that to around $10 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Gelifen nibbled Christopher’s fingers in greeting, plucked a feather from his own wings with his beak, and offered it to him.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Arana was easy to follow, offering modifications to each sequence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
China memory-chip maker ChangXin Technology Group surged more than five times from its initial public offering price in a blockbuster debut in Shanghai.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
"I had trouble standing up from low chairs and deep couches without someone offering me an arm," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
He called the initial public offering a "turning point in the global storage industry landscape and the development trajectory of China's semiconductor sector".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
“No one, just offering my two cents,” she answered.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
Definitions 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.
