off and on
Idioms-
Also, on and off.
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Intermittently, from time to time. For example, I read his column off and on , or We've been working on the garden all summer, on and off . [Early 1500s]
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Also, off again, on again ; on again, off again . Uncertain, vacillating, as in Theirs is an off again, on again relationship , or The peace talks are on again, off again . Some believe this term originally referred to minor railroad accidents, where a train went off track and then on again. [Mid-1800s]
Vocabulary lists containing off-and-on
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.
In the end, switching the steering wheel and turning the car off and on again did it, and Russell just made it out for a final lap.
From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026
I studied off and on with Sheila for a few years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026
He lived there as a kid, and as an adult stayed at the house off and on.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025
Tensions off and on the field have been high since a deadly military clash between the nuclear-armed neighbours in May.
From Barron's • Nov. 16, 2025
Derrik joked with me off and on, but generally found me too reserved for his tastes.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
