be off

1. 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.

2. 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]

3. 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]

4. 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.

5. see be off.

Example Sentences

Still, if productivity could be raised through a process of economic reform, the economy would be “off to the races,” he said.

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“The markets are potentially susceptible to large moves in reaction to data that might be off consensus estimates, and we’re going to get potentially two months of data at once. So the likelihood of volatility in reaction to the data increases the longer we have to wait for the actual data to come out,” he added.

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If your daughter has half the diligence that you have in embarking on her new life, she’ll be off to a good start.

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If your daughter has half the diligence that you have in embarking on her new life, she’ll be off to a good start.

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“I’ll be off next week for Easter break with my kids,” she said.

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