offer
verb (used with object)
to present for acceptance or rejection; proffer.
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offer
American
[aw-fer, of-er]
/ ˈɔ fər, ˈɒf ər /
verb (used with object)
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offers,
present (3rd person singular)
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offered,
past participle, past
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offering
present participle
-
to present for acceptance or rejection; proffer.
He offered me a cigarette.
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to propose or put forward for consideration.
to offer a suggestion.
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to propose or volunteer (to do something).
She offered to accompany me.
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to make a show of intention (to do something).
We did not offer to go first.
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to give, make, or promise.
She offered no response.
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to present solemnly as an act of worship or devotion, as to God, a deity or a saint; sacrifice.
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to present for sale.
He offered the painting to me at a reduced price.
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to tender or bid as a price.
to offer ten dollars for a radio.
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to attempt or threaten to do, engage in, or inflict.
to offer battle.
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to put forth; exert.
to offer resistance.
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to present to sight or notice.
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to introduce or present for exhibition or performance.
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to render (homage, thanks, etc.).
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to present or volunteer (oneself ) to someone as a spouse.
verb (used without object)
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offers,
present (3rd person singular)
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offered,
past participle, past
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offering
present participle
-
to present itself; occur.
Whenever an opportunity offered, he slipped off to town.
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to present something as an act of worship or devotion; sacrifice.
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to make a proposal or suggestion.
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to suggest oneself to someone for marriage; propose.
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Archaic. to make an attempt (followed byat ).
noun
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offers
plural
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an act or instance of offering.
an offer of help.
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the condition of being offered.
an offer for sale.
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something offered.
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a proposal or bid to give or pay something as the price of something else; bid.
an offer of $90,000 for the house.
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Law. a proposal that requires only acceptance in order to create a contract.
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an attempt or endeavor.
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a show of intention.
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a proposal of marriage.
offer
1
British
/ ˈɒfə /
verb
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to present or proffer (something, someone, oneself, etc) for acceptance or rejection
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(tr) to present as part of a requirement
she offered English as a second subject
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(tr) to provide or make accessible
this stream offers the best fishing
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(intr) to present itself
if an opportunity should offer
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(tr) to show or express willingness or the intention (to do something)
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(tr) to put forward (a proposal, opinion, etc) for consideration
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(tr) to present for sale
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(tr) to propose as payment; bid or tender
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to present (a prayer, sacrifice, etc) as or during an act of worship
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(tr) to show readiness for
to offer battle
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archaic (intr) to make a proposal of marriage
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(tr; sometimes foll by up or to) engineering to bring (a mechanical piece) near to or in contact with another, and often to proceed to fit the pieces together
noun
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something, such as a proposal or bid, that is offered
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the act of offering or the condition of being offered
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contract law a proposal made by one person that will create a binding contract if accepted unconditionally by the person to whom it is made See also acceptance
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a proposal of marriage
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short for offer price
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for sale at a reduced price
Offer
2
British
/ ˈɒfə /
acronym
Synonym Usage
Offer, proffer, tender mean to present for acceptance or refusal. Offer is a common word in general use for presenting something to be accepted or rejected: to offer assistance. Proffer, with the same meaning, is now chiefly a literary word: to proffer one's services. Tender (no longer used in reference to concrete objects) is a ceremonious term for a more or less formal or conventional act: to tender one's resignation.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonoffernoun
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offerernoun
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offerornoun
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preoffernoun
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reofferverb
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offerableadjective
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self-offeredadjective
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unofferedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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offersimple
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offerssimple
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have offeredperfect
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has offeredperfect
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am offeringprogressive
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are offeringprogressive
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is offeringprogressive
-
have been offeringperfect progressive
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has been offeringperfect progressive
Past
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offeredsimple
-
had offeredperfect
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was offeringprogressive
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were offeringprogressive
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had been offeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of offer
First recorded before 900; Middle English offren, Old English offrian “to present in worship,” from Latin offerre, equivalent to of- of- + ferre “to bring”; see bear 1
Explanation
You make an offer when you present your willingness to do something. People selling a house wait for the best offer. One person offers something, and another person accepts or rejects it. It's polite to offer guests something to drink and to offer a friend some space under your umbrella. A marriage proposal is a type of offer. A threat of violence is "an offer you can't refuse" in The Godfather. This word can mean a religious act as well, or — more grossly — the kind of offering a cat makes when it offers a dead mouse to its owner.
Vocabulary lists containing offer
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:
CVS Health also will offer expanded pharmacy support for GLP-1 patients and $29 MinuteClinic online visits for eligible patients to connect with clinicians about GLP-1 treatments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
But for cats that genuinely do enjoy it, researchers suggest in a small 2025 study, the practice of cat-walking may offer positive health and social experiences for cats and owners alike.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
While Netflix does not offer a free service, the streaming giant in October 2022 began offering a lower-priced ad-supported option, later attributing the offering with a boost in subscription counts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
What Bessent didn’t offer was a concrete framework for how those principles should translate into specific investment decisions and guardrails pertaining to them.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
We got an offer to give out free airplane rides this morning’—don’t get on the plane!
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Staff at Ealing Broadway, Ilford, Paddington, Romford and Woolwich Elizabeth Line stations will hand out "Please Offer Me A Seat", "Baby on Board" and "Babies on Board" badges to customers who need them.
From BBC ● May 11, 2026
Appeared in the May 2, 2026, print edition as 'China’s ‘Teapot’ Refiners Offer Financial Lifeline to Iran'.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Offer to look over and send out her résumé.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 25, 2026
Offer letters and emails explain what a parent needs to do next to accept or decline the place.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2026
The headline Manufacturing Data Helps Invigorate Wall Street could have used one, and a preposition would also have come in handy in Teacher Strikes Idle Kids and Textron Makes Offer to Screw Company Stockholders.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Meanwhile, New Mexico’s legislative “truth commission” released its first report on Zorro Ranch Wednesday, but the 119-page document offers little in the way of new revelations or recommendations.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
At a time when much of our politics has become partisan, this bipartisan bill offers a unifying win for the country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Thanks to the tiered bleacher-style seating, almost every seat in the house offers a great vantage point.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Teleperformance, the world's largest call centre operator and one of the Philippines' biggest private employers, has said AI offers an opportunity to augment rather than replace its workforce.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
For a moment, Dad looks like he wants to shoot a comment back at her, but instead he nods and offers her a tense smile.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Both candidates in Michigan have offered a different vision for the state and for the country.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Australia, where one in three homes now has rooftop panels, offered a clear blueprint for the Philippines, he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
It is understood the party has now offered the Board, as well as the Jewish Leadership Council and the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, a meeting with Bonehill-Pain so they can discuss their concerns directly.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
The company said it would deposit 2,500 Bilt rewards points to affected customers for their inconvenience, and offered to work directly with customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
But when Eugene Hammond offered to deliver her home in his racing car, she bellered like a calf and vaulted into the wagon bed unaided.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Anthropic’s Claude Code took off in December, powering the company to a leading position in the AI race, and OpenAI released its own offering, called Codex.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
After a disturbing video was livestreamed on social media involving Perez Hilton on Tuesday, the celebrity blogger’s family is offering a health update.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The company has begun weighing a complementary offering that could be built around advertising sales.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
By comparison, the company’s shares originally priced at $135 ahead of its June 12 initial public offering.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Fat fall pumpkins sat in windows as late-night shoppers slipped in and out of Ignoble Incant Imporium or the Wicked Warehouse of Wonders or into the open-air Mischief Mart full of trinkets offering dark promises.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
