offseason

noun

off·​sea·​son ˈȯf-ˌsē-zᵊn 

variants or less commonly off-season

plural offseasons also off-seasons

: a time of suspended or reduced activity

It's cheaper to visit the area during the offseason.

off-season travel

especially : the time during which an athlete is not training or competing

During the offseason, he put on another eight pounds of muscle and when he got to spring training, his Red Sox uniform was too tight.

—Mel Antonen

After undergoing arthroscopic surgery in the off-season, Hardaway says he's ready to put last year's disappointment behind him.

—Marty Burns

an offseason football trade

off-season training

off-season adverb

or less commonly offseason

traveling off-season

Examples of offseason in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Retaining Pierce and quarterback Daniel Jones, whom Indianapolis re-signed on a two-year, $88 million deal, were the Colts’ top two offseason priorities. — James Boyd, New York Times, 11 Aug. 2026

Overall, the free agent period feels as fun as any offseason mechanic in sports video games. — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2026

The Arizona Cardinals released him this offseason and handed their starting job to Jacoby Brissett, Murray's former backup. — Anthony Bettin, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026

Two major questions remaining in their offseason are whether aging wonder Steph Curry and young guard Brandin Podziemski will sign contract extensions. — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 11 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for offseason

• milesian
• partizan
• postseason
• preseason
• unreason
• reason
• season
• seizin
• treason

Kids Definition

off-season

noun

ˈȯf-ˌsēz-ᵊn

: a time when some activity is suspended or reduced