offering
Americannoun
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something offered in worship or devotion, as to a deity; an oblation or sacrifice.
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a contribution given to or through the church for a particular purpose, as at a religious service.
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anything offered as a gift.
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something presented for inspection or sale.
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a sale.
our spring offering of furniture.
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the act of one who offers.
noun
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something that is offered
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a contribution to the funds of a religious organization
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a sacrifice, as of an animal, to a deity
Etymology
Origin of offering
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English offrung; equivalent to offer + -ing 1
Explanation
An offering is a type of offer or bid, like the kind made in a business meeting. When you offer something—like a cookie—you're asking someone if they want it. An offering is like that: it's an offer. One type of offering is a proposal or bid made in business. A sports team could make an offering of three million dollars a year to a running back. A bidder could make an offering of one thousand dollars at an auction. An offering is a promise to pay that much if the offering is accepted.
Vocabulary lists containing offering
King Tut Day
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Ship Breaker
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Novel Study: The Road, Pages 1–175
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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.
But in a cooling labor market, some job hunters have started offering finder’s fees to recruiters who can place them in new roles.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
In a vote of confidence, Gies will purchase $100 million of supervoting Class B shares in conjunction with the offering at the deal price.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
Some drugs represent genuine breakthroughs, based on new biological mechanisms and offering fundamentally new ways to treat diseases.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026
Ware's audience expects to dance, with her early material offering an opportunity to catch a breath between the choreography, effervescence and glitz.
From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026
The farmer helped Booth dismount, offering support when the fugitive’s body weight bore down on his injured leg.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
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.
