be off
Idioms-
Leave, depart, as in I'm off to the races; wish me luck . This phrase, first recorded in 1826, was once commonly used as an imperative, meaning “go away”—as in Be off or I'll call the police —but today is rare in this context.
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Be in poor condition; be stale or spoiled; not work properly. For example, This milk must be off; it tastes sour , or The kitchen clock is off by at least five minutes . [Early 1990s]
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Be free from work, school, or some other regular occupation, as in The secretary is off today, but perhaps I can find it . [Mid-1800s]
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Decline, as in The industrial stocks are off 50 points today . This usage, nearly always applied to securities or other prices, was first recorded in 1929, the year of the great stock market crash.
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see be off.
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.
If signs of economic weakness are more obvious by the December meeting then he might be off the hook for standing pat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
“You think that you take five weeks off,” Roberts said, “that your timing is going to be off a little bit.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Marvell drops after so-so earnings fail to wow investors, while PayPal slumps after a report says its takeover may be off.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
It says an apparent deal for the duchess to star in Netflix series The Gentlemen is worth £1m but the "big deal could be off".
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Tristran hurried into the parlor and informed Mr. Brown that he would be off now.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
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.
