on and off 1 of 2

adverb

Definition of on and offnext
as in off and on
not constantly or steadily over a period of time It's been raining on and off all afternoon.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

on-and-off

2 of 2

adjective

as in recurrent
occurring or appearing at intervals an on-and-off friendship over the years

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of on and off
Adjective
Styles and Swift dated on-and-off until 2013, when their breakup inspired several songs on Swift’s 1989. — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 8 July 2026 An economist at advisory firm Oxford Economics said the ceasefire probably would continue to be on-and-off and Washington and Tehran could still deescalate the latest tensions instead of returning to war. — ABC News, 8 July 2026 Despite the on-and-off rain and the muggy weather, the mood in the city was jovial. — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 4 July 2026 What’s more, the sneakers are machine washable for easy cleaning and have a pull tab for effortless on-and-off. — Destinee Scott, Travel + Leisure, 3 July 2026 Officials said Friday that a group of 50 volunteers had joined the effort to look for Kinney along the banks of the lake, adding that on-and-off rain hindered the search, according to WSAZ. — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 27 June 2026 An on-and-off again rivalry during the primary The two men shared a similar message during the primary, slamming Democrats for mismanaging the state and calling for tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 26 June 2026 Rain jackets and ponchos were a common sight Tuesday, but the on-and-off showers did little to dampen the atmosphere at the FIFA Fan Festival on Boston's City Hall Plaza. — Aaron Parseghian, CBS News, 23 June 2026 The two had an on-and-off relationship and were making out at the end of season nine. — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 15 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for on and off
  1. off and on
  2. recurrent
  3. sporadically
  4. recurring
  5. intermittently
  6. periodic
  7. periodically
  8. intermittent
Adverb
  • Pharis continued to get minor rashes, off and on, for the next four years.
    — Charles Trepany, USA Today, 2 July 2026
  • Northern Minnesota will see thunderstorms off and on throughout the day.
    — Mike Augustyniak, CBS News, 26 June 2026
Definition of off and on
Adjective
  • Wolfe said some people have recurrent symptoms, after the body tries and fails to fully fight off the illness.
    — Eva Flowe July 6, Charlotte Observer, 6 July 2026
  • Other essential qualities include a substantial heft, range, and engagement with the United States’s history, especially the recurrent issues of racial injustice, religious enthusiasm, social conformity, and rampant capitalism.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
Definition of recurrent
Adverb
  • Handley recommends adding a small amount to your compost pile sporadically, then adding this to your soil or as a mulch at the base of your plants.
    — Rae Ford, Martha Stewart, 4 July 2026
  • My 21-year-old child responds only sporadically to texts and phone calls, often going days or weeks without a response.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2026
Definition of sporadically
Adjective
  • The Bell Street Bridge encampment was prioritized for closure as part of Downtown Rising – the first phase of Atlanta Rising, a multi-year campaign launched in 2025 to end unsheltered homelessness citywide and make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.
    — Emily McLeod, CBS News, 7 Mar. 2026
  • This was and is a non-recurring, cyclical business totally dependent on transaction volumes, which fluctuate with economic cycles and interest rates.
    — Josh Brown,Sean Russo, CNBC, 15 Jan. 2026
Definition of recurring
Adverb
  • Oslo is intermittently concerned that the tiny Russian settlement of Barentsburg on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago might seek to become something bigger.
    — Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
  • Roosevelt lived and ranched in North Dakota intermittently for about two years after the deaths of his wife and mother on the same day in 1884.
    — Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 1 July 2026
Definition of intermittently
Adjective
  • The interface between regulators and their licensees will move from periodic submissions to continuous data exchange.
    — Matthew White, Fortune, 7 July 2026
  • Rather than treating learning as a periodic training activity, leading organizations are embedding learning into the fabric of the organization as a core capability for navigating continuous disruption.
    — Michael Edmondson, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of periodic
Adverb
  • As in France, trade unions exploded with rage, and sustained protests and strikes have taken place periodically for months.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 11 July 2026
  • Violence flared and subsided periodically, and Lebanon and Israel reached ceasefire agreements in 1993, 1996 and after a 2006 war.
    — Anthony Wanis-St John, The Conversation, 10 July 2026
Definition of periodically
Adjective
  • The road will remain open, but travelers should expect delays, including intermittent lane closures in both directions, according to a county news release.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 7 July 2026
  • Proponents didn’t view the plan as a cure-all but called it a step toward breaking the cycle of intermittent attention by making civilian protection a year-round mission.
    — Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 6 July 2026
Definition of intermittent

Browse Nearby Words

on all hands
on and off
on-and-off
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“On and off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/on%20and%20off. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fulcrum

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All