off year
Americannoun
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a year without a major, especially presidential, election.
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a year marked by reduced or inferior production or activity in a particular field, as farming, business, or sports.
With its wet, cold summer, this was an off year for grapes.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of off year
First recorded in 1870–75
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.
This so-called "off year" election doesn't feature presidential or congressional races, but there are still several critical votes to watch tonight.
From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025
“Upper Middle Class. And even in off year elections more than two thirds of them vote.”
From Salon • Apr. 1, 2024
Chargers receiver Keenan Allen and edge rusher Khalil Mack make the AFC Pro Bowl team after putting together career-best seasons in off year for team.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 5, 2024
Tannehill goes into his fourth season needing to prove 2021 was simply an off year and that he can win when it matters the most.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 28, 2022
It was an off year that didn’t bring a new Gilbreth baby.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
