What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Off vs Near - What's the difference?

off | near |

In colloquial terms the difference between off and near

is that off is out of the possession of while near is nearly.

As adverbs the difference between off and near

is that off is in a direction away from the speaker or object while near is having a small intervening distance with regard to something.

As adjectives the difference between off and near

is that off is inoperative, disabled while near is physically close.

As prepositions the difference between off and near

is that off is Used to indicate movement away from a position onnear is close to, in close proximity to.

As verbs the difference between off and near

is that off is to kill while near is to come closer to; to approach.

As a noun near is

the left side of a horse or of a team of horses pulling a carriage etc.

off

English

Adverb

(en adverb)
  • In a direction away from the speaker or object.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=No matter how early I came down, I would find him on the veranda, smoking cigarettes, or
  • Into a state of non-operation; into a state of non-existence.

    • Usage notes

    * Used in many , off'' is an adverbial particle often mistakenly thought of as a preposition. (It ''can be used as a preposition, but such usage is rare and usually informal; see below.)

    Synonyms

    * away, out

    Antonyms

    * on, in

    Derived terms

    * back off * bite off * break off * bring off * call off * clean off * cut off, cutoff * die off * drop off * fall off * fuck off * get off * go off * goof off * hold off * keep off * kick off, kickoff * knock off * lay off, layoff * leave off * let off * light off * live off * make off * make off with * nod off * pay off, payoff * piss off * pull off * put off * ring off * rip off, ripoff * round off * run off, runoff * see off * set off * show off, showoff * sleep off * shake off * switch off * take off * tell off * tick off * turn off, turnoff * walk it off * wear off

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Inoperative, disabled.
  • :All the lights are off .
  • Rancid, rotten.
  • :This milk is off !
  • (cricket) In, or towards the half of the field away from the batsman's legs; the right side for a right-handed batsman.
  • Less than normal, in temperament or in result.
  • :sales are off this quarter
  • Circumstanced (as in well off'', ''better off'', ''poorly off ).
  • *
  • Started on the way.
  • :off to see the wizard
  • :And they're off ! Whatsmyname takes an early lead, with Remember The Mane behind by a nose.
  • *
  • Far; off to the side.
  • :the off horse or ox in a team, in distinction from the nigh or near horse
  • *
  • *:So this was my future home, I thought!Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.
  • *1937 , (Zora Neale Hurston), Their Eyes Were Watching God , Harper Perennial (2000), p.151:
  • *:He came in, took a look and squinched down into a chair in an off corner and didn’t open his mouth.
  • Designating a time when one is not strictly attentive to business or affairs, or is absent from a post, and, hence, a time when affairs are not urgent.
  • :He took an off''' day for fishing.  an '''off''' year in politics; the '''off season

    • Antonyms

    * (inoperative) on * (rotten) fresh * (cricket) on, leg

    Derived terms

    * off to the races

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • (Used to indicate movement away from a position on)
    • I took it off''' the table.''; ''Come '''off the roof!
  • (colloquial) Out of the possession of.
    • He didn't buy it off''' him. He stole it '''off him.
  • Away from or not on.
    • He's off''' the computer, but he's still on the phone.''; ''Keep '''off the grass.
  • Disconnected or subtracted from.
    • We've been off''' the grid for three days now.''; ''He took 20% '''off the list price.
  • Distant from.
    • We're just off''' the main road.''; ''The island is 23 miles ' off the cape.
  • No longer wanting or taking.
    • He's been off''' his feed since Tuesday.''; ''He's '''off his meds again.
    • Tantalum bar 6 off 3/8" Dia × 12" — Atom, Great Britain Atomic Energy Authority, 1972
    samples submitted … 12 off Thermistors type 1K3A531 … — BSI test report for shock and vibration testing, 2000
    I'd like to re-order those printer cartridges, let's say 5-off .

    Antonyms

    *

    Derived terms

    * off-campus * off one's feed

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (slang) To kill.
    • He got in the way so I had him offed .
  • (Singapore) To switch off.
    • Can you off the light?

    Derived terms

    * off-licence, off-license, offie, offy

    Statistics

    * 1000 English basic words 200 English basic words English contranyms English locatives English prepositions English three-letter words

    near

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The left side of a horse or of a team of horses pulling a carriage etc.

    • Synonyms

    * near side

    Antonyms

    * off side

    See also

    * nearside

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Physically close.
  • * Dryden
    • He served great Hector, and was ever near , / Not with his trumpet only, but his spear.
  • Closely connected or related.
  • * Bible, Leviticus xviii. 12
    • She is thy father's near kinswoman.
  • Close to one's interests, affection, etc.; intimate; dear.
    • a near friend
  • Close to anything followed or imitated; not free, loose, or rambling.
    • a version near to the original
  • So as barely to avoid or pass injury or loss; close; narrow.
    • a near escape
  • (of an event) Approaching.
    • The end is near .
  • Approximate, almost.
    • The two words are near synonyms.
  • (dated) Next to the driver, when he is on foot; (US) on the left of an animal or a team.
    • the near''' ox; the '''near leg
  • (obsolete) Immediate; direct; close; short.
  • * Milton
    • the nearest way
  • (obsolete, slang) Stingy; parsimonious.

    • Antonyms

    * remote

    Derived terms

    * near abroad * near-death experience * near-Earth object * Near East * near infrared * near-minimal pair * near miss * near the knuckle * nearly * nearness

    Adverb

    (er)
  • Having a small intervening distance with regard to something.
    • I'm near -sighted.
  • (colloquial) nearly
  • * 1666 Samuel Pepys Diary and Correspondence (1867)
    • ...he hears for certain that the Queen-Mother is about and hath near finished a peace with France....
  • * 1825 David Hume, Tobias George Smollett The History of England p. 263
    • Sir John Friend had very near completed a regiment of horse.
  • * 2003 Owen Parry Honor's Kingdom p. 365
    • Thinking about those pounds and pence, I near forgot my wound.
  • * 2004 Jimmy Buffett A Salty Piece of Land p. 315, p. 35
    • "I damn near forgot." He pulled an envelope from his jacket.
  • * 2006 Juliet Marillier The Dark Mirror p. 377
    • The fire was almost dead, the chamber near dark.

    Derived terms

    * nearsighted

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • Close to, in close proximity to.
  • * 1820 , (Mary Shelley), :
    • He entered the inn, and asking for dinner, unbuckled his wallet, and sat down to rest himself near the door.
  • * , chapter=17
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=This time was most dreadful for Lilian. Thrown on her own resources and almost penniless, she maintained herself and paid the rent of a wretched room near the hospital by working as a charwoman, sempstress, anything.}}
  • * 1927 , , :
    • It shied, balked, and whinnied, and in the end he could do nothing but drive it into the yard while the men used their own strength to get the heavy wagon near enough the hayloft for convenient pitching.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-16, author= John Vidal
    • , volume=189, issue=10, page=8, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas , passage=Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.}}
  • Close to in time.
    • Usage notes
    Joan Maling (1983) shows that near'' is best analysed as an adjective with which the use of ''to'' is optional, rather than a preposition. It has the comparative and the superlative, and it can be followed by ''enough''. The use of ''to however is usually British.

    Antonyms

    * far from

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To come closer to; to approach.
    • The ship nears the land.

    See also

    * (wikipedia) * para- * nigh

    References

    * Joan Maling (1983), Transitive Adjectives: A Case of Categorial Reanalysis'', in F. Henry and B. Richards (eds.), ''Linguistic Categories: Auxiliaries and Related Puzzles , vol.1, pp. 253-289.

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * 100 English basic words English locatives 1000 English basic words ----