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• well-off
  well-off

  adjective

  having sufficient money for comfortable living; well-to-do.
• well off
  well off

  In fortunate circumstances, especially wealthy or prosperous, as in They're quite well off now. This phrase may be a shortening of come well off, that is, “emerge in good circumstances.” [First half of 1600s]

well-off

American  

[wel-awf, -of] / ˈwɛlˈɔf, -ˈɒf /

adjective

1. having sufficient money for comfortable living; well-to-do.

   Synonyms:

   comfortable, affluent, wealthy, prosperous

2. in a satisfactory, favorable, or good position or condition.

   If you have your health, you are well-off.

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well-off British  

adjective

1. in a comfortable or favourable position or state

2. financially well provided for; moderately rich

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well off Idioms  

1. In fortunate circumstances, especially wealthy or prosperous, as in They're quite well off now. This phrase may be a shortening of come well off, that is, “emerge in good circumstances.” [First half of 1600s]

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Etymology

Origin of well-off

First recorded in 1725–35

Example Sentences

Much of the funding went to well-off talent agents and celebrities.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026

Let’s say I’m a moderately well-off single taxpayer with an income of $200,000, so I will owe about $37K in taxes.

From Slate • May 11, 2026

A well-off grain dealer in those days, with a sideline as an art collector, fragments of his pre-war life survive in the paintings and sculptures by Ukrainian artists dotted around the bunker.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026

Posh Lindsay’s family was well-off enough to leave her an inheritance.

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2026

“But there were some well-off people who didn’t want to do this labor, and they were willing to pay for someone to take their place,” Jack said.

From "Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps" by Andrea Warren

Related Words

• affluent
• prosperous
• well-to-do