off|side /ɒ fsa I d, [AM ] ɔː f-/ also off-side
1 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] In games such as football or hockey, when an attacking player is offside , they have broken the rules by being nearer to the goal than a defending player when the ball is passed to them. □ The goal was disallowed because she was offside. ● ADV [ADV after v] Offside is also an adverb. □ Wise was standing at least ten yards offside. ● N‑UNCOUNT Offside is also a noun. □ Rush had a 45th-minute goal disallowed for offside.
2 ADJ [usu v-link ADJ ] In American football, a player is offside if they cross the line of scrimmage before a play begins. [AM ]
3 N‑SING [usu N n] The offside of a vehicle is the side that is farthest from the edge of the road when the vehicle is being driven normally. [BRIT ] □ The driver of the car lowered his offside front window.
o ff-si te → see site
off|spring /ɒ fspr I ŋ, [AM ] ɔː f-/ (offspring ) N‑COUNT [oft with poss] You can refer to a person's children or to an animal's young as their offspring . [FORMAL ] □ Eleanor was now less anxious about her offspring than she had once been.
off|stage /ɒ fste I dʒ, [AM ] ɔː f-/ also off-stage
1 ADV [ADV after v, n ADV ] When an actor or entertainer goes offstage , they go into the area behind or to the side of the stage, so that the audience no longer sees them. □ She ran offstage in tears. □ There was a lot of noise offstage.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Offstage is used to describe the behaviour of actors or entertainers in real life, when they are not performing. □ …the tragedies of their off-stage lives. ● ADV Offstage is also an adverb. □ Despite their bitter screen rivalry, off-stage they are close friends.
o ff-the-cu ff → see cuff
o ff-the-pe g → see peg
o ff-the-re cord → see record
o ff-the-she lf → see shelf
o ff-the-wa ll
1 ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe something as off-the-wall , you mean that it is unusual and rather strange but in an amusing or interesting way. [INFORMAL ] □ …surreal off-the-wall humor.
2 ADJ If you say that a person, their ideas, or their ways of doing something are off-the-wall , you are critical of them because you think they are mad or very foolish. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ It can be done without following some absurd, off-the-wall investment strategy.
o ff to p|ic also off-topic ADJ If you describe something that someone says or writes as off topic , you mean that it is not relevant to the current discussion; used especially of discussions on the internet. □ A troll is someone who posts inflammatory or off-topic messages in an online community.
o ff-whi te COLOUR Something that is off-white is not pure white, but slightly grey or yellow.
o ff-yea r (off-years ) N‑COUNT [oft N n] An off-year is a year when no major political elections are held. [AM ] □ Election officials predict they'll set a new turnout record for an off-year election in Washington state.
oft- /ɒ ft-, [AM ] ɔː ft-/ COMB Oft- combines with past participles to form adjectives that mean that something happens or is done often. [LITERARY ] □ The Foreign Secretary's views on the treaty are well-documented and oft-repeated.
of|ten ◆◆◆ /ɒ f ə n, [AM ] ɔː f-/ Often is usually used before the verb, but it may be used after the verb when it has a word like 'less' or 'more' before it, or when the clause is negative. 1 ADV [ADV before v] If something often happens, it happens many times or much of the time. □ They often spent Christmas at Prescott Hill. □ It was often hard to work and do the course at the same time. □ That doesn't happen very often.
2 ADV You use how often to ask questions about frequency. You also use often in reported clauses and other statements to give information about the frequency of something. □ How often do you brush your teeth? □ Unemployed Queenslanders were victims of personal crime twice as often as employed people.
3 PHRASE If something happens every so often , it happens regularly, but with fairly long intervals between each occasion. □ She's going to come back every so often. □ Every so often he would turn and look at her.
4 PHRASE If you say that something happens as often as not, or more often than not , you mean that it happens fairly frequently, and that this can be considered as typical of the kind of situation you are talking about. □ Yet, as often as not, they find themselves the target of persecution rather than praise. SYNONYMS often ADV 1
frequently: Folic acid supplements are frequently given to pregnant women.
generally: We generally say and feel too much about these things.
repeatedly: Both men have repeatedly denied the allegations. USAGE often
Don’t use ‘often’ to talk about something that happens several times within a short period of time. Don’t say, for example, ‘
often|times /ɒ f ə nta I mz, [AM ] ɔː f-/ ADV [ADV with v] If something oftentimes happens, it happens many times or much of the time. [AM ] □ Oftentimes, I wouldn't even return the calls.
ogle /oʊ g ə l/ (ogles , ogling , ogled ) VERB If you say that one person is ogling another, you disapprove of them continually staring at that person in a way that indicates a strong sexual interest. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V n] All she did was hang around ogling the men in the factory. □ [V + at ] Paula is not used to everyone ogling at her while she undresses backstage. [Also V ]