off-duty
adjective
not engaged in the performance of one's usual work.
off-duty
American
[awf-doo-tee, -dyoo-, of-]
/ ˈɔfˈdu ti, -ˈdju-, ˈɒf- /
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.
off duty
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of off-duty
First recorded in 1850–55
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.
See Examples For:
The woman’s boyfriend, an off-duty police officer, then placed Gonzalez in handcuffs, according to the statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
An off-duty pilot travelling on the plane was then able to take the controls and land the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Iza admitted to hiring off-duty sheriff’s deputies to provide him with personal security from August 2021 through April 2022.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Colin had the brief pleasure of rolling in with an army of off-duty Baltimore cops, old pals of his, and taking it back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Unfortunately for Farrington, his seatmate was an off-duty policeman.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
In April, the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, urged officers to be "extremely cautious" about carrying Met-issued devices while off duty after the force upgraded its Lawful Business Monitoring software.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
The remains of two Army soldiers who went missing while off duty from military exercises in Morocco were recovered in May, according to the Army.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Liam said that nowadays they were most often mixed up when they were off duty.
From BBC ● May 19, 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
The Main Day-Shift was just going off duty.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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.
