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off of. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
off of, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
off of in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
off of you have here. The definition of the word
off of will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
off of, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɒfəv/, (reduced, before a consonant) /ˈɒfə/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈɑfəv/
Preposition
off of
- (now colloquial) Off; from.
1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, ”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, :Card. What, art thou lame?
Simpc. I, God Almightie helpe me.
Suff. How cam'st thou so?
Simpc. A fall off of a Tree.
1741, [Samuel Richardson], Pamela: Or, Virtue Rewarded. , volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: C Rivington, ; and J. Osborn, , →OCLC:Do, my dearest child, get me off of this difficulty, and I can have no other […] .
1870–1871 (date written), Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XX, in Roughing It, Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company , published 1872, →OCLC, page 151:The coach bounced up and down in such a terrific way that it jolted the buttons all off of Horace’s coat, […]
1928 September 28, “Eye of Gawd”, in Time:"The green curtains that hung there for years and years... have been taken down and the blood-red cardinal velvet curtains have been hung up, and they have taken the green top off of the President's desk and put a red one on that..."
1967, Bob Crewe / Bob Gaudio, Can't Take My Eyes Off You:You're just too good to be true / I Can't take my eyes off of you.
1995, Alan Warner, Morvern Callar, Vintage, published 2015, page 13:Though it was only bass and drums I could hear, you could tell it was that (Don't Fear) The Reaper, offof Some Enchanted Evening.
Usage notes
- The use of off of as a preposition is now considered tautological or incorrect by some usage guides and is not suitable for formal or business use. Off of can be replaced with on, from or off: "This is based on (off of) his first book"; "I got the information from (off of) the Internet"; "He took a paper off (off of) his desk".