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.
Nunez said the suspect was "apprehended by an off-duty police officer".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Two off-duty nurses and an off-duty doctor began performing CPR on the beach before the teenager was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital by air ambulance.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Activists and social media identify Keith ‘Pooter’ Porter as the man shot and killed by an off-duty ICE agent in Northridge on New Year’s Eve.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
"The ceasefire definitely soothes our nerves, hoping it stays this way. The crew is finally taking a breather," an off-duty captain of a ship, whose crew is stranded off Qatar, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Apr. 8, 2026
In truth, Mother Fletcher was the only one in his precinct that he thought of during his off-duty hours.
From "145th Street: Short Stories" by Walter Dean Myers
The Associated Press reported that the remains of two Army soldiers who went missing while off duty from military exercises in Morocco were recovered in May.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
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
But, in a twist of fate, he was off duty on July 10.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 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.
