not engaged in the performance of one's usual work.
an off-duty police officer.
of, relating to, or during a period when a person is not at work.
First recorded in 1850–55
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Platner pleaded ignorance—claiming that he had gotten inked with insignia while drunk and off duty in Croatia, and didn’t understand the horrific context until much later.
From Slate • Apr. 13, 2026
Hashimi charges into the breach with a head full of “improvements” she plans to make before Robby has even gone off duty.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 6, 2026
Police standards say officers' behaviour must not "discredit the police service or undermine public confidence, whether on or off duty".
From BBC • Oct. 1, 2025
Pc Attwood said after the hearing: "There is a saying that the police are never off duty and in my case at this time, that was true."
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2025
Late one afternoon, when he got off duty at the newsstand, Mario cleaned up the cricket cage, gave Chester a dusting off with a Kleenex, and took him to Chinatown to see Sai Fong.
From "The Cricket in Times Square" by George Selden
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.
