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Showing results for off-license. Search instead for on-license.

off-license

American  
[awf-lahy-suhns, of-] / ˈɔfˌlaɪ səns, ˈɒf- /
Or off-licence

noun

  1. a license permitting the sale of sealed bottles of alcoholic beverages to be taken away from the premises by the purchaser.

  2. a store having such a license.

adjective

  1. having such a license.

Etymology

Origin of off-license

First recorded in 1890–95

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.

She chose the cool bottles by feel in the dark little off-license nook, beyond a curtain of plastic strips, because she could hardly see in there; her eyes were dazzled from the light outside.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 2, 2012

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.