off base

Prepositional phrase

1. (US, not comparable) Situated or happening outside the boundaries of a military base.
   • A Virginia lawmaker wants to improve off-base living conditions for enlisted troops with families.2009 September 21, Bill Maze, “Bill would expand off-base housing options”, in Navy Times, archived from the original on 29 Jun 2013

   Antonyms:

   on base

2. (not comparable) Positioned somewhere between the bases, and hence vulnerable to being caught out.
   • The hippo heard us, and, like a baseball player caught off base, tried to get back to the river.1907, Richard Harding Davis, chapter 5, in The Congo and Coasts of Africa

   Antonyms:

   on base

3. (comparable, figuratively) Mistaken; misguided; somewhat wrong in opinion or judgment.
   • Near-synonyms: off-track, off target
   • But he's off-base in describing the city as having "record crime" until he took office.2007 November 27, Lori Robertson, “The Not-Quite Truth About NYC”, in Newsweek, archived from the original on 24 Jan 2025

   Synonyms:

   off-track, off target

4. (comparable, figuratively, belief, idea, etc) Incorrect or inappropriate; not properly executed, envisioned, or understood.
   • Near-synonyms: off-track, off target, off-kilter
   • Verne had been dead for 64 years by the time of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 and was thus spared the embarrassment of knowing . . . that part of the rocket would be named “Columbia,” not his own ludicrously off-base suggestion, “Columbiad.”2007 July 20, Bruno Maddox, “Blinded By Science Fictional Reality”, in Discover Magazine, archived from the original on 19 Sep 2011, retrieved 26 Sep 2010

   Synonyms:

   off-track, off target, off-kilter