off-grid

American  

[awf-grid, of‐] / ˈɔfˌgrɪd, ˈɒf‐ /

off-the-grid, or off grid

adjective

1. not connected to or using one or more public utilities, as for electricity or water: Our farm is off grid and works on solar panels.

   Well over a billion people live in off-grid areas.

   Our farm is off grid and works on solar panels.

2. not connected to or using one or more public communications networks, as for cellular service.

   They live off grid with no internet access.

3. not having communication with the outside world; not participating in society.

   I sometimes fantasize about a solitary, off-grid life, far away from humanity.

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off-grid British  

adjective

1. not involving or requiring the use of mainstream sources of energy

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Etymology

Origin of off-grid

First recorded in 1975–80

Explanation

Anything that's off-grid doesn't use public utilities like electricity or water. Your dream house might be an off-grid cabin, but you should probably try using an outhouse in the winter before you actually move into one! Off-grid sometimes refers specifically to the national grid, which is made up of regional power plants that provide electricity to most Americans. If solar panels on your roof generate all your electricity, you live in an off-grid home. It can also mean "outside of and not dependent on society" more generally: "I wanted an off-grid life, so I moved into the woods and got some chickens and goats."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

off-grid

CAT attracted ffin because it "struck me as a place where you could do very hands-on biology and work on off-grid systems, and also have an education component and a visitor centre".

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

Now, though, more hyperscalers are seeking to hook their data centers to off-grid power, bypassing lengthy wait times.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

However, in recent years, the “Ransom Canyon” star has been spending far more time at his other dwelling: an off-grid “doomsday prepper” cabin in the Minnesota.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

Muhammad Abdulahi, 34, doesn't worry about power outages -- his home is completely off-grid, running on solar.

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

Over the past few months Kelton’s family has assembled an over-the-top surveillance system, set up a mini greenhouse in their side yard, and lined their entire roof with some kind of unregistered, off-grid solar panels.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman