a time of year other than the regular or busiest one for a specific activity.
Fares are lower in the off-season.
a time of year when business, manufacturing activity, etc., is less than normal or at an unusually low point.
First recorded in 1840–50
Anything with a season also has an off-season. Summer marks the off-season for skiing, and winter marks the off-season for most amusement parks (unless, of course, you live in Orlando, Florida). Off-season is often the time of the year when tourists don't visit, or when sports fans have to take a break from their favorite games. In seaside resorts, the off-season is the summer. During the off-season, visitors are sparse and sometimes businesses offer discounts to attract tourism. When you're talking about sports, the off-season is the period athletes spend training in preparation for their playing seasons.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Instead of the customary 60% to 70% occupancy rate in off-season June, the hotel is less than 40% full, the manager said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Cai said Annie loved her job with grain-growing company CBH and, during the off-season, also worked on a farm alongside his boss's wife, helping with cooking, cleaning and caring for others.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
Holidaymaker Paul Thompson, who owns a campervan, called for a "balancing act between the busy summer period and the off-season".
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
Bananas, mangoes, pineapples and off-season berries and vegetables are all exposed to higher input costs, Lempert added, and consumers could pay between 5% and 20% more by the fall, depending on produce origin.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 21, 2026
In seasons past, playing for Permian had meant routinely vomiting during the grueling off-season workouts inside the hot and sweaty weight room.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
Cover crops like winter wheat are grown in the off season, to help bind the soil together and stop it being washed away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Following an off season for the typically dominant Kansas City Chiefs, Allen’s path to the big game looked clearer than ever.
From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2026
With wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins being signed to big new deals in the off season, he has his weapons for the long term.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2025
It also bans full-contact practices for youth football teams during the off season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2025
It's the off season, but I brought a couple of car-loads along with me to Chicago, to the stock-yards.
From Ben Blair The Story of a Plainsman by Lillibridge, Will
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.
