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.
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
I’ll be off for a couple of weeks, but my Wall Street Journal colleagues will keep Markets A.M. coming in my absence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
He needs to be off the meds for at least 72 hours before he can be released, and he also needs to start displaying normal, wild behaviors, including aggression.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
The Surge will be off on vacation next week.
From Slate ● Aug. 15, 2026
And now Mam was under the grass and Maggie would be off to America.
From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff
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.
