1. Denoting distance or separation; as, the house is a mile
off.
2. Denoting the action of removing or separating; separation;
as, to take off the hat or cloak; to cut off, to pare off,
to clip off, to peel off, to tear off, to march off, to
fly off, and the like.
3. Denoting a leaving, abandonment, departure, abatement,
interruption, or remission; as, the fever goes off; the
pain goes off; the game is off; all bets are off.
4. Denoting a different direction; not on or towards: away;
as, to look off.
5. Denoting opposition or negation. [Obs.]
The questions no way touch upon puritanism, either
off or on. --Bp.
Sanderson.
{From off}, off from; off. ``A live coal . . . taken with the
tongs from off the altar.'' --Is. vi. 6.
{Off and on}.
(a) Not constantly; not regularly; now and then;
occasionally.
(b) (Naut.) On different tacks, now toward, and now away
from, the land.
{To be off}.
(a) To depart; to escape; as, he was off without a
moment's warning.
(b) To be abandoned, as an agreement or purpose; as, the
bet was declared to be off. [Colloq.]
{To come off}, {To cut off}, {To fall off}, {To go off}, etc.
See under {Come}, {Cut}, {Fall}, {Go}, etc.
{To get off}.
(a) To utter; to discharge; as, to get off a joke.
(b) To go away; to escape; as, to get off easily from a
trial. [Colloq.]
{To take off}, to mimic or personate.
{Off side}
(Football), out of play; -- said when a player has got in
front of the ball in a scrimmage, or when the ball
has been last touched by one of his own side
behind him.
{To be off color}, to be of a wrong color.
2. Designating a time when one is not strictly attentive to
business or affairs, or is absent from his post, and,
hence, a time when affairs are not urgent; as, he took an
off day for fishing: an off year in politics. ``In the off
season.'' --Thackeray.
{Off side}.
(a) The right hand side in driving; the farther side. See
{Gee}.
(b) (Cricket) See {Off}, n.
I must edge up on a point of wind. --Dryden.
{To edge away} or {off} (Naut.), to increase the distance
gradually from the shore, vessel, or other object.
{To edge down} (Naut.), to approach by slow degrees, as when
a sailing vessel approaches an object in an oblique
direction from the windward.
{To edge in}, to get in edgewise; to get in by degrees.
{To edge in with}, as with a coast or vessel (Naut.), to
advance gradually, but not directly, toward it.