off-grid

adjective

ˈȯf-ˈgrid 

variants or off-the-grid

ˈȯf-ṯẖə-ˈgrid 

: not connected to or served by publicly or privately managed utilities (such as electricity, gas, or water)

When folks move to an off-grid, rural homestead, they often end up burning a lot of fossil fuels (and spending a lot of money) driving to and from town in an inefficient farm truck.

—Cam Mather

Four Harvard University students are bringing portable, sustainable power to off-grid areas in developing countries …

—Emily Aviles

It's hard to imagine a more inspiring space than this off-the-grid building (powered by nearby solar panels).

—Samuel Cochran

Traditionally, home schooling has been branded as a fringe activity—the domain of Bible-toting parents and off-the-grid hippies.

—Lynn Schnaiberg

off the grid adverb

or less commonly off-the-grid or off-grid

Not everyone can live off the grid. At least not yet. But until then, many of us are doing simple things to conserve energy, save money and help the environment.

—Paul Singley

I'm not taking about modern-day Thoreaus building shacks in the woods and living off-the-grid …

—Paul McFedries

Right now people who live off-grid with PV panels on their roofs rely on ordinary batteries to get through the night.

—George Johnson

Examples of off-grid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This flexibility allows compact, off-grid nuclear generators to operate in isolated military posts and remote industrial sites. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 31 July 2026

Such strategies are fueling debate over whether Africa’s off-grid solar sector has reached a financial turning point, attracting mainstream investors beyond its traditional base of donor agencies and development finance institutions. — ABC News, 31 July 2026

The women were preparing to ascend 1,200 feet in elevation to the Betty Bear Hut, one in a robust network of off-grid cabins throughout Colorado known as the 10th Mountain Division Huts. — Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 30 July 2026

Founded by Leslie Duckworth and now carried forward by her daughter Anna Campbell, this beautiful, off-grid, beachfront retreat reflects a vision of Lamu that’s centered on simplicity rather than excess. — Sarah Kingdom, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1978, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

off-grid

adjective

ˈȯf-ˈgrid 

variants or off-the-grid

ˈȯf-ṯẖə-ˈgrid 

: not connected to or served by publicly or privately managed utilities (as electricity, gas, or water)