offset
/ˈɒf.sɛt/US/ˈɔf.sɛt/
offset noun: anything that acts as counterbalance; a compensating equivalent.
Noun
offset (plural offsets)
- Anything that acts as counterbalance; a compensating equivalent.
- Today's victory was an offset to yesterday's defeat.
- There were more applicants for situations than vacancies, and nothing better or more congenial to my taste offering, I accepted a place in a Saloon. The salary was $100 per month, which was somewhat of an offset against the peculiarities of the position.1861, E. J. Guerin, Mountain Charley, page 39
- 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.
- A time at which something begins; outset.
- Later, Timberlake would tell Playboy that he noticed Ryan's talent from the offset, saying, 'I thought he had charisma that was just beaming, which has turned out to serve him really well as an actor.'2017, Nick Johnstone, Ryan Gosling - The Biography
- The offset printing process, in which ink is carried from a metal plate to a rubber blanket and from there to the printing surface.
- offset lithographs
- offset process
- The difference between a target memory address and a base address.
- An array of bytes uses its index as the offset, of words a multiple thereof.
- The displacement between the base level of a measurement and the signal's real base level.
- The raw signal data was subjected to a baseline correction process to subtract the sensor's offset and drift variations.
- The distance by which one thing is out of alignment with another.
- There is a small offset between the switch and the indicator which some users found confusing.
- A short distance measured at right angles from a line actually run to some point in an irregular boundary, or to some object.
- 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.
- A short prostrate shoot that takes root and produces a tuft of leaves, etc.
- […] [I]nfected tulips are weakened by the viruses that cause the very patterns and swirls that fascinated horticulturists and investors in the first place. Such bulbs tend to dwindle away instead of fattening up and producing offsets.2014 September 26, Charles Quest-Ritson, “The Dutch garden where tulip bulbs live forever: Hortus Bulborum, a volunteer-run Dutch garden, is dedicated to conserving historic varieties before they...
- A spur from a range of hills or mountains.
- 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.
- A terrace on a hillside.
Verb
offset (third-person singular simple present offsets, present participle offsetting, simple past and past participle offset or (rare) offsetted)
- To counteract or compensate for, by applying a change in the opposite direction.
- I'll offset the time difference locally.
- to offset one charge against another
- Synonyms:
- countervail
- To place out of line.
- To form an offset in (a wall, rod, pipe, etc.).
Adverb
offset (comparative more offset, superlative most offset)
- Away from or off from the set of a movie, film, video, or play.
- Offset Riley is romantically involved with Alexandra Maria Lara, who plays lan Curtis's lover Annik Honoré in Control.2008, Film Review, page 93
- Anita's pianoises are made offset for her by Norma Boleslawski, wife of late, great director Richard Boleslawski.2014, Ivan Raykoff, Dreams of Love: Playing the Romantic Pianist, page 82
Adjective
offset (comparative more offset, superlative most offset)
- Away from or off from the set of a movie, film, video, or play.
- By then, the cast had become good friends and spent all their offset time together.2013, Kathleen A. Tracy, Superstars of the 21st Century, page 134
- This is the principal need for a stand-in. To allow the actor to reset their own performance in a space right offset; which may also include resetting wardrobe and makeup.2021, Kevin Marshall Pinkney, On the Mark
offset meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
offset in Hindi
- ऑफसेट करें, ऑफसेट, आफसेट करें
offset in Tamil
- ஒரு செலவையோ, எதிரிடை, குத்தளவு, குத்து நீட்டம், குறுங்கிடை, பிதுக்கம்
offset in Marathi
- difference in memory addresses
- ऑफसेट ŏphseṭ
offset in Urdu
- آفسیٹ, آفسیٹ کریں
More languagesFewer languages
- offset in Bengali
- অঙ্কুর, প্রশাখা, ভারসাম্য করা, ক্ষতিপূরণ করা
- offset in Telugu
- ఆఫ్సెట్, ఆఫ్సెట్ చేయండి
- offset in Malayalam
- തട്ടിക്കിഴിക്കാനുളള സംഖ്യ, തളിര്
- offset in Kannada
- ಮೊಳಕೆ, ಅಂಕುರ, ಸರಿತೂಕ, ಉತ್ತಾರ
- offset in Punjabi
- ਆਫਸੈੱਟ, ਆਫਸੈੱਟ ਕਰੋ, ਆਫ਼ਸੈੱਟ
- offset in Gujarati
- ઓફસેટ કરો, ઓફસેટ, ઑફસેટ કરો
- offset in Odia
- ଅଫସେଟ କରନ୍ତୁ, ଅଫସେଟ, ଅଫସେଟ୍ କରନ୍ତୁ
- offset in Nepali
- अफसेट, अफसेट गर्नुहोस्, आफसेट गर्नुहोस्
Examples of offset in a sentence
- But the modest gain in comfort and operating convenience so secured has been more than offset, in my experience, by the draughtiness of the standard cab.1953 June, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 396:
- Paddington [to Birmingham], a new express put on to offset the withdrawal of the 8.40 a.m. from Euston.1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 103:
- The maroon livery of D1001 is offset, not only by yellow buffer beams and "aprons", but by white-painted cab window frames.1962 April, “Motive power miscellany: Western Region”, in Modern Railways, page 280:
- 'Are the pubs open?' When the reply came back that they were indeed open, he would say, 'Then fuck your quarterly,' and rush offset, even though the break wasn't meant for the actors.2018, Frank Henson, Luck of Losing the Toss:
Synonyms of offset
- countervail
- compensate for
- counterbalance
- equivalence
- offstand
- set off
- offlay
Antonyms
Forms of offset
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | offsets |
| alternative form | off-set |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | offsets |
| present participle | offsetting |
| past participle | offset |
| past | offset |
| past participle (rare) | offsetted |
| past (rare) | offsetted |
| Adverb | |
| comparative | more offset |
| superlative | most offset |
| Adjective | |
| comparative | more offset |
| superlative | most offset |
Origin of offset
From off- + set, used to construct the noun form of the verb to set off. Compare Middle English ofsetten (“to encumber, harass, beset, besiege”), from Old English ofsettan (“to press, oppress, overwhelm, crush”).
Words formed from offset
Phrases with offset
Questions about offset
- What does offset mean?
- Offset means anything that acts as counterbalance; a compensating equivalent.
- What is offset in Hindi?
- Offset in Hindi is ऑफसेट करें, ऑफसेट, आफसेट करें. See Offset meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use offset in a sentence?
- But the modest gain in comfort and operating convenience so secured has been more than offset, in my experience, by the draughtiness of the standard cab.
- What part of speech is offset?
- Offset can be a noun, a verb, an adverb or an adjective.
- How do you pronounce offset?
- Offset is pronounced /ˈɒf.sɛt/ (UK).
- What is the plural of offset?
- The plural of offset is offsets.
Words near offset in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: offset (page history and authors); offset (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); offset (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); offset (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); offset (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); offset (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); offset (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); offset (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); offset (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); offset (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); offset (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); offset (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-offset1.wav.
Cite this entry: “offset.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/offset. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.