offshore

[awf-shawr, -shohr, of-]

adverb

1. off or away from the shore;

   They pushed the boat offshore.

2. at a distance from the shore, on a body of water.

   looking for oil offshore.

3. in a foreign country.

adjective

1. moving or tending away from the shore toward or into a body of water.

   an offshore wind.

2. located or operating on a body of water, at some distance from the shore.

   offshore fisheries.

3. registered, located, conducted, or operated in a foreign country.

   an offshore investment company; offshore manufacture of car parts.

verb (used with or without object)

1. (of a company or organization) to move jobs or business activities from the home territory to a foreign country: At this time, the manufacturing division has no plans to offshore.

   When our IT services were offshored to Malaysia, I lost my job.

   At this time, the manufacturing division has no plans to offshore.

offshore

/ ˌɒfˈʃɔː /

adjective

1. from, away from, or at some distance from the shore

2. overseas; abroad

adjective

1. sited or conducted at sea as opposed to on land

   offshore industries

2. based or operating abroad in places where the tax system is more advantageous than that of the home country

   offshore banking

   offshore fund

offshore

1. The relatively flat, irregularly shaped zone that extends outward from the breaker zone to the edge of the continental shelf. The water depth in this area is usually at least 10 m (33 ft). The offshore is continually submerged.

Other Word Forms

• offshoring noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of offshore¹

First recorded in 1710–20; off + shore ¹

Example Sentences

But Mr Done argues that UK-based, High Street betting shops provide better safeguards for people with gambling problems, as well as tax revenues, than online and offshore rivals.

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The Honolulu Harbour Board confirmed it had the ship towed into deep water about 25 miles offshore on Wednesday and then scuttled.

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The pipelines, which linked Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, were the world’s largest offshore gas conduits at the time.

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The licensing of offshore oil and gas fields, whether for exploration or extraction, is a matter reserved to the UK government.

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Once again, a flood of fuel is being stashed offshore.

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