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• of
  of

  preposition

  (used to indicate distance or direction from, separation, deprivation, etc.).
• OF
  OF

  abbreviation

  Old French.
• of-
  of-

  variant of ob- (by assimilation) before f: offend.

of

¹ American  

[uhv, ov, uhv, uh] / ʌv, ɒv, əv, ə /

preposition

1. (used to indicate distance or direction from, separation, deprivation, etc.).

   within a mile of the church; south of Omaha; to be robbed of one's money.

2. (used to indicate derivation, origin, or source).

   a man of good family; the plays of Shakespeare; a piece of cake.

3. (used to indicate cause, motive, occasion, or reason).

   to die of hunger.

4. (used to indicate material, component parts, substance, or contents).

   a dress of silk; an apartment of three rooms; a book of poems; a package of cheese.

5. (used to indicate apposition or identity).

   Is that idiot of a salesman calling again?

6. (used to indicate specific identity or a particular item within a category).

   the city of Chicago; thoughts of love.

7. (used to indicate possession, connection, or association).

   the king of France; the property of the church.

8. (used to indicate inclusion in a number, class, or whole).

   one of us.

9. (used to indicate the objective relation, the object of the action noted by the preceding noun or the application of a verb or adjective).

   the ringing of bells; He writes her of home; I'm tired of working.

10. (used to indicate reference or respect).

    There is talk of peace.

11. (used to indicate qualities or attributes).

    an ambassador of remarkable tact.

12. (used to indicate a specified time).

    They arrived of an evening.

13. Chiefly Northern U.S. before the hour of; until.

    twenty minutes of five.

14. on the part of.

    It was very mean of you to laugh at me.

15. in respect to.

    fleet of foot.

16. set aside for or devoted to.

    a minute of prayer.

17. Archaic. by.

    consumed of worms.

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of ² American  

[uhv] / əv /

auxiliary verb

Nonstandard.

1. have.

   He should of asked me first.

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OF ³ American  

Or OF.,

abbreviation

1. Old French.

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of- ⁴ American  

1. variant of ob- (by assimilation) before f: offend.

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of ¹ British  

/ ɒv, əv /

preposition

1. used with a verbal noun or gerund to link it with a following noun that is either the subject or the object of the verb embedded in the gerund

   the breathing of a fine swimmer (subject)

   the breathing of clean air (object)

2. used to indicate possession, origin, or association

   the house of my sister

   to die of hunger

3. used after words or phrases expressing quantities

   a pint of milk

4. constituted by, containing, or characterized by

   a family of idiots

   a rod of iron

   a man of some depth

5. used to indicate separation, as in time or space

   within a mile of the town

   within ten minutes of the beginning of the concert

6. used to mark apposition

   the city of Naples

   a speech on the subject of archaeology

7. about; concerning

   speak to me of love

8. used in passive constructions to indicate the agent

   he was beloved of all

9. informal used to indicate a day or part of a period of time when some activity habitually occurs

   I go to the pub of an evening

10. before the hour of

    a quarter of nine

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OF ² British  

abbreviation

1. Old French (language)

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Spelling

Because the preposition of, when unstressed ( a piece of cake ), and the unstressed or contracted auxiliary verb have ( could have gone, could've gone ) are both pronounced or in connected speech, inexperienced writers commonly confuse the two words, spelling have as of ( I would of handed in my book report, but the dog ate it ). Professional writers have been able to exploit this spelling deliberately, especially in fiction, to help represent the speech of the uneducated: If he could of went home, he would of.

Usage

Of is sometimes added to phrases beginning with the adverb how or too followed by a descriptive adjective: How long of a drive will it be? It's too hot of a day for tennis. This construction is probably modeled on that in which how or too is followed by much, an unquestionably standard use in all varieties of speech and writing: How much of a problem will that cause the government? There was too much of an uproar for the speaker to be heard. The use of of with descriptive adjectives after how or too is largely restricted to informal speech. It occurs occasionally in informal writing and written representations of speech. See also couple, off.

Etymology

Origin of of¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English: “of, off”; cognate with German ab, Latin ab, Greek apó; cf. a- ², o', off

Origin of of²

A phonetic spelling representing the pronunciation of the word in continuous rapid speech

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

of OF of-

The department has asked members of the public who have information on the incident to contact East Los Angeles Det.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

As the procession began, Total Eclipse of the Heart could be heard playing on the busy street, as crying fans broke into applause.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

In that footage, shattered glass, empty shelves, cracked computer screens and scattered debris can be seen in the wake of the burglary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Choir Only Men Aloud will sing her huge hit Total Eclipse of the Heart and Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, while the congregation will sing hymn Calon Lan.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

She makes her stop in El Paso, but she also accepts an invitation to speak at a public meeting of the American Legion in Tucson, Arizona, to raise awareness of Hansen’s disease.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

One of the Justice Department documents was titled “LIST OF SCIENTISTS” with about 30 names and what appeared to be blacked-out contact information.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026

Juan Soto, 26, OF, Scott Boras: Most free agents are on the wrong side of 30.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2024

David Peralta, OF, Padres: Peralta, 37, has long been admired as a professional hitter, a dangerous left-handed bat in the lineup or off the bench.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2024

Yankees: INF DJ LeMahieu and OF Giancarlo Stanton got the day off for rest.

From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2024

“OUT OF MY WAY!” shouted Mrs. Weasley to the three girls, and with a swipe of her wand she began to duel.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

I mean, it was the progressive dynamo of- of much of the United States.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 9, 2023

Emerance Maschmeyer stopped 27 of- 2 shots in the first two periods before giving way to Kristen Campbell, who stopped all eight shots she face in the third period.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2021

But then it is interesting when you're dealing with a recipe fit question of how few words and what are the words that you need to communicate this technical thing of-

From Salon ● Mar. 30, 2019

“A lot of people on Phoebe’s team bring an unduplicated point of- view,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 29, 2019

"So we need shelters as a sort of-" "Home."

From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding