off-duty

[ awf-doo-tee, -dyoo-, of- ]

/ ˈɔfˈdu ti, -ˈdyu-, ˈɒf- /

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adjective

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.

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Origin of off-duty

First recorded in 1850–55

Words nearby off-duty

off-centre, off chance, off-color, off colour, offcut, off-duty, Offenbach, offence, offend, offender, offense

How to use off-duty in a sentence

In his view, a writer has only one duty: to be present in his books.
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Our duty is to make sure that they realize that the Prophet is not avenged.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Although the blood-spattered offices will be off-limits, staff have vowed to continue producing the magazine.
France Mourns—and Hunts|Nico Hines, Christopher Dickey|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A passing off-duty school safety officer named Fred Lucas said that he had been told the man was a drug dealer.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The NOPD fired Knight in 1973 for stealing lumber from a construction site as an off-duty cop.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise|Jason Berry|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And as she hesitated between obedience to one and duty toward the other, her life, her love and future was in the balance.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
A far-off volley rumbled over the plain, and a few birds stirred uneasily among the trees.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Each did his duty, or was adjured to do it, in the "state of life to which it had pleased God to call him."
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
The dead bodies of the two men were guarded until next day, for justice to do its duty.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
That alone is being sent to your Majesty as a report, in order to inform you of everything, as is my duty.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various

Other Idioms and Phrases with off-duty

off duty

see under on duty.