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APG.American
Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

offset

/ˈɔf.sɛt/

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What does offset mean?

noun

  1. Anything that acts as counterbalance; a compensating equivalent.
  2. A form of countertrade arrangement, in which the seller agrees to purchase within a set time frame products of a certain value from the buying country. This kind of agreement may be used in large international public sector contracts such as arms sales.
  3. A time at which something begins; outset.
More meanings (15)

noun

  1. The offset printing process, in which ink is carried from a metal plate to a rubber blanket and from there to the printing surface.
  2. The difference between a target memory address and a base address.
  3. The displacement between the base level of a measurement and the signal's real base level.
  4. The distance by which one thing is out of alignment with another.
  5. A short distance measured at right angles from a line actually run to some point in an irregular boundary, or to some object.
  6. An abrupt bend in an object, such as a rod, by which one part is turned aside out of line, but nearly parallel, with the rest; the part thus bent aside.
  7. A short prostrate shoot that takes root and produces a tuft of leaves, etc.
  8. A spur from a range of hills or mountains.
  9. A horizontal ledge on the face of a wall, formed by a diminution of its thickness, or by the weathering or upper surface of a part built out from it; a set-off.
  10. A terrace on a hillside.

verb

  1. To counteract or compensate for, by applying a change in the opposite direction.
  2. To place out of line.
  3. To form an offset in (a wall, rod, pipe, etc.).

adverb

  1. Away from or off from the set of a movie, film, video, or play.

adjective

  1. Away from or off from the set of a movie, film, video, or play.
Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈɔf.sɛt/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Other dictionary pronunciations

/ɔfˈsɛt/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

The government's past economic diversification efforts have moderated the severity of the downturn but failed to offset oil and gas revenue losses.
United States. Central Intelligence AgencyThe 1990 CIA World FactbookProject Gutenberg ebook #14
The discovery of any condition which will offset the small annual yields is, therefore, of the highest importance to the advancement of dry-farming.
John Andreas WidtsoeDry-Farming : A System of Agriculture for Countries under a Low RainfallProject Gutenberg ebook #4924
More book examples (2)
The continuous wind worried them a good deal, but they had a substantial offset to the cold in a plentiful supply of seal-meat.
Douglas, Sir MawsonThe Home of the Blizzard Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914Project Gutenberg ebook #6137
On such rare afternoons the ugliest of cities becomes the most poetic, and months of sodden days are offset by a moment of miracle.
Willa CatherAlexander's BridgeProject Gutenberg ebook #94