1384 |
particular set of rules, laws,
etc. : Many of
those living on the streets
are not officially homeless.
I’m
not officially supposed to be here. IkJclX
3\ & M A W o 3 according to information that
has been told to the public but that may not be true #g £ : Officially, he resigned because of
bad health.
igWAi&fe, ELS
UNOFFICIALLY
official re'ceivernoim = receiver(3) of ficial 'secret noun (in
Official Secrets Act ggCM, f“f
imx^amx«st)
the Official 'Stecrets Act noun (in
jffWWj&M)
of fi ci ate /a'fijieit/ verb [V] ~ (at sth) (formal) to do the official
duties at a public or religious ceremony
( isl$); m
offi cious /a'fijas/ adj. {disapproving) too ready to tell people what to do or
to use the power you have to give orders g £§ A iffl J® W ; Hd self-
important : a
nasty officious little man hfK, ifUrpfi ^WMik ►
of-fi-cious-ly adv.: You can’t park here,’ he said
officiously. of-fi-cious-ness noun [U]
off ing J'oim; NAmE 'aif-; 'a:f-/ noun 117171 in the offing (informal) likely to appear or
happen soon BP I hear there are more staff changes in the offing. n/f ij£
,off-'key adj. 1 (of a voice or a
musical instrument
%% 31) not in tune ^ iU ;
X it 2 not
suitable or correct in a particular situation ;
Xtn
.
^; i H771 inappropriate : Some of his remarks
were very off-key. ilk
# @ % iS X I# # 0 ► ■
off-' key
adv.; to sing off-key
PS A 7
'off-licence (BrE)
{US liquor store,
package store) noun a shop that sells
alcoholic drinks in bottles and cans to take away
off- limits adj. 1 ~ (to sb) (of a place ffe ff) where people are not
allowed to go XJHiftAW;
^ikAA W: The
site is off-limits to the general public.
/*jkJftiko 2 not allowed to be
discussed Xifti&TfcW;
^
lb W. ii W: The subject was ruled
off-limits. M aE it
■fcifcfc'HSSo
off-line /,Dflain;
NAmE ,a:f-; ,o:f-/ adj. {computing if) not directly
controlled by or connected to a computer or to the Internet MM; Mmtti:
For
offline orders, call this
number.
► off line adv. : How do I write an email
offline? in f&X&W?
— see also online off-load /.Dflaud; NAmE .orfloud;
,a:f-/ verb [VN] ~ sth/sb (on/onto
sb) to get rid of sth/sb that you do not need or want by passing it/them to
sb else tE (
( *£31A ) ; ) ; fcp ( )
: They should
stop offloading waste from
oil tankers into the sea. ilk ill 0 It’s
nice to have
someone you can offload your
problems onto. jSft W 'Mis
,
off-'peak adj. [only before noun] happening
or used at a time that is less popular or busy, and therefore cheaper #ftd#$W; : off-peak
electricity/travel #fttiff
H|WJ W 4 A ; ,off-'peak adv.: Phone calls
cost 20c per unit
off-peak.
# ft Bi IhJ ft
# -££- fit M
M o — compare peak
,
off-'piste adj. away from the tracks
of firm snow that have been prepared for skiing
on It ^ ilk Pi): off-piste skiing jf ?# ft ► . off-' piste adv.: We enjoy skiing off-piste, it it/hit H e
off-print /'Dfprint;
NAmE 'o:f-; 'a:f-/ noun a separate printed copy of an article
that first appeared as part of a newspaper, magazine, etc. ( ) #■
ft*
'off-putting adj. (informal, especially BrE) not pleasant, in a
way that prevents you from liking sb/sth * A M 1$; ^ A it M W: I find his manner very
off-putting.
'off-ramp
noun {NAmE, SAfrE) a road used for
driving off a major road such as an interstate
( W )
ftPEit, tlUM
'off-road adj. [usually before noun] not on the public road ]& ± W; S8 if W : an off-road vehicle {- one for driving on
rough ground) !
,off-'roader noun 1 a vehicle which is
driven across rough ground as a sport M if He * 2 a person who
drives a vehicle across rough ground as a sport jjf if ►
,off-'roading noun [U]
'off-sale
noun [U, C] the
practice of selling alcoholic drinks from a bar, hotel, etc. to be drunk
somewhere
elsel988ft#$
,off-'screen adj. [only before noun] in real life, not in a
film/movie X'/SHW; They were
off-screen lovers, ftk Cl J6 M £ X tg * W
1# „ ► , off-
‘ screen adv.: She looks totally
different off-screen.
M^ A AtiJ^M Ao —
compare on-screen 'off season noun [sing] 1 the time of the year that is less busy in business and
travel (
EEE1
low season 2 {NAmE, sport ft) = close season(2) ►,off-'season adj. [only before noun]: off-season prices
%
,
off-'season adv.: We prefer to travel
off-season.
off-set /’nfset; NAmE 'o:f-; 'a:f-/ verb, adj.
■
verb (off-set-ting,
off-set, off set) [VN] ~ sth (against sth) to use one cost, payment or situation in
order to cancel or reduce the effect of another ^ ; 3ft ^ :
Prices have risen in order to offset the increased
cost of materials. o {BrE)
What expenses can you offset against tax? if 'a ff % of \ll
a adj. [only before noun] used to describe a
method of printing in which ink is put onto a metal plate, then onto a rubber
surface and only then onto the paper
mm
off-shoot /'nfjuit; NAmE 'o:f-; 'a:f-/ noun 1 a thing that develops from sth,
especially a small organization that develops from a larger one ft A; ( X ta ) # £ fJU^J
2 {technical Ailf) a new stem that grows on a plant H
tt;
off-shore /.ufjo/r); NAmE ,o:f-; ,a:f-/ adj. [usually before noun] 1 happening or
existing in the sea, not far from the land M ± W; M W: offshore drilling o
an offshore island 2 (of winds JxQ blowing
from the land towards the
sea [□] 'M W ; ^ ^ W : offshore breezes >] >\ ® M 3 {business j§[) (of money,
companies, etc. ^ ^ ^ ^] ^) kept or
located in a
country that has more
generous tax laws than other places mm) w;
W; offshore investments ► off-shore
adv. : a ship anchored
offshore
— ® ft }§ ± W In 0 profits earned offshore M M — compare inshore, onshore
off-shor-ing /Dfjoirir); NAmE ,o:f-; ,a:f-/ noun [U] the practice of a company in one
country arranging for people in another country to do work for it ( ^ £] W )
/K
^ & ik %, i*L a ik % ■. the offshoring
of call-
centre jobs to
/hfe
►
off-shore verb [VN] off-side adj., noun
madj. /.nfsaid; NAmE ,o:f-; ,a:f-/ 1 {US also off-sides) in some sports, for
example football (soccer) and hockey, a player is offside if he or
she is in a position, usually ahead of the ball, that is not allowed (
W
is ij] A ) it fv W : He was offside when he
scored. ftkAF^anBftBM^To 0 the offside rule —
compare onside 2 {BrE)
on the side of a vehicle that is furthest from the edge of the road <
AliJ W: the offside mirror — compare nearside
• noun [U] 1 /.nfsaid; NAmE ,o:f-; ,a:f-/ {US also off-sides) the fact of being
offside in a game such as football (soccer)
or hockey ( W )
The goal was disallowed for offside. 13 ASHi, ift