1
: coming or moving away from the shore toward the water
an offshore breeze
2
a
: situated off the shore but within waters under a country's control
offshore fisheries
b
: distant from the shore compare inshore
3
: situated or operating in a foreign country
offshore mutual funds
offshore banking
off·shore
ˈȯf-ˌshȯr 
: off the shore of
Synonyms
Examples of offshore in a Sentence
Adjective
We sailed to an offshore island.
He works on an offshore oil rig.
They opened an offshore bank account.
He traced the money to an offshore investment company.
Recent Examples on the Web
Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, 21 Sep. 2023
There are a wide variety of possible tracks for Hurricane Lee this week, but most keep the storm offshore.
—Dave Epstein, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2023
The hurricane center expects Lee to make a more pronounced turn to the north this week, and the official path forecast keeps the storm well offshore of the U.S. East Coast through Friday.
—Leigh Morgan, al, 10 Sep. 2023
Beachgoers should look for choppy, rippled water heading offshore.
—Austindedios, oregonlive, 3 Sep. 2023
That’s particularly true because wind blows strongest offshore in the coldest months, when demand for heat is at its highest.
—New York Times, 18 Aug. 2023
As Hilary moves north, Boldt said the system could push strong offshore winds inland Sunday, which may create conditions similar to Santa Anas that are ripe for fire starts, Boldt said.
—Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2023
After all, what happens offshore affects communities on land, too.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 5 Sep. 2023
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects that the storm will get closest to Hong Kong and China’s southern Guangdong Province Friday night but the center of the storm will remain offshore.
—Tara Subramaniam, CNN, 31 Aug. 2023
Compiled By Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2023
Barcelona prosecutors have accused the pop star of using an offshore company located in a tax haven to avoid paying the tax, according to the Associated Press.
—Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2023
She is also being accused of using an offshore company to avoid paying taxes.
—Chelsea Hylton, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2023
But energy companies see the deeper offshore environment as infinitely exploitable.
—William Booth, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2023
The net effect, according to the government, was $340 billion in federal tax revenue as companies and individuals repatriated hundreds of billions of dollars in offshore earnings.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 20 Sep. 2023
Here’s a look at some of the noteworthy energy bills Newsom will consider:
Boosting offshore wind
Assembly Bill 1373 is primarily aimed at smoothing the way for the state to erect giant offshore wind turbines off the coasts of Morro Bay and Humboldt County.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2023
China's currency slipped about 0.1%, with $1 recently buying more than 7.35 offshore yuan.
—WSJ, 8 Sep. 2023
Indeed, Wang’s analysis found that the rise in offshore rapid intensification could be due to both natural variability in the climate and human-caused climate change.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 8 Sep. 2023
Jeremy Beaman, Washington Examiner, 16 Jan. 2023
Bubbles emerge from a methane seep offshore Virginia.
—Jeffrey Marlow, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2016
The storm began organizing Friday offshore the Carolinas when two disturbances along the jet stream merged over the Southeast.
—Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2022
As of this writing, more than 70 container ships are idling offshore the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach because there are not enough dockworkers to unload the cargo, nor are there enough truck drivers to transport the goods.
—Adam Strauss, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2021
Salmon fishing has been given an additional boost by large schools of juvenile anchovies that have arrived this month offshore the Bay Area coast and in San Francisco Bay.
—Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, 21 Aug. 2020
As for crude inventories, there are also ample stockpiles being housed in onshore tanks and vessels offshore that could hit the market as the economics of storing the crude becomes less attractive.
—Serene Cheong, Bloomberg.com, 20 May 2020
Echoing Lynch’s comments, Al Cook, executive vice president of Global Strategy and Business Development at Equinor, pointed out the company’s investments in carbon capture and storage near Norway, and a wind energy project offshore Scotland.
—Katherine Dunn, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2020
Apache has pinned high hopes on Suriname after Exxon Mobil started developing huge oil projects offshore of neighboring Guyana.
—Jordan Blum, Houston Chronicle, 7 Jan. 2020
See More
Adverb
Track and impacts The storm is expected to be located several hundred miles offshore of North Carolina on Friday afternoon, and then make landfall on or skim very close to the Outer Banks Saturday morning.
—Matthew Cappucci, Washington Post, 21 Sep. 2023
There are a wide variety of possible tracks for Hurricane Lee this week, but most keep the storm offshore.
—Dave Epstein, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Sep. 2023
The hurricane center expects Lee to make a more pronounced turn to the north this week, and the official path forecast keeps the storm well offshore of the U.S. East Coast through Friday.
—Leigh Morgan, al, 10 Sep. 2023
Beachgoers should look for choppy, rippled water heading offshore.
—Austindedios, oregonlive, 3 Sep. 2023
That’s particularly true because wind blows strongest offshore in the coldest months, when demand for heat is at its highest.
—New York Times, 18 Aug. 2023
As Hilary moves north, Boldt said the system could push strong offshore winds inland Sunday, which may create conditions similar to Santa Anas that are ripe for fire starts, Boldt said.
—Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2023
After all, what happens offshore affects communities on land, too.
—Justine Calma, The Verge, 5 Sep. 2023
The Joint Typhoon Warning Center projects that the storm will get closest to Hong Kong and China’s southern Guangdong Province Friday night but the center of the storm will remain offshore.
—Tara Subramaniam, CNN, 31 Aug. 2023
Adjective
Shakira is alleged to have used an offshore company based in a tax haven to avoid paying the tax, Barcelona prosecutors said in a statement.
—Compiled By Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 27 Sep. 2023
Barcelona prosecutors have accused the pop star of using an offshore company located in a tax haven to avoid paying the tax, according to the Associated Press.
—Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 26 Sep. 2023
She is also being accused of using an offshore company to avoid paying taxes.
—Chelsea Hylton, Los Angeles Times, 26 Sep. 2023
But energy companies see the deeper offshore environment as infinitely exploitable.
—William Booth, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2023
The net effect, according to the government, was $340 billion in federal tax revenue as companies and individuals repatriated hundreds of billions of dollars in offshore earnings.
—Matt Ford, The New Republic, 20 Sep. 2023
Here’s a look at some of the noteworthy energy bills Newsom will consider:
Boosting offshore wind
Assembly Bill 1373 is primarily aimed at smoothing the way for the state to erect giant offshore wind turbines off the coasts of Morro Bay and Humboldt County.
—Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2023
China's currency slipped about 0.1%, with $1 recently buying more than 7.35 offshore yuan.
—WSJ, 8 Sep. 2023
Indeed, Wang’s analysis found that the rise in offshore rapid intensification could be due to both natural variability in the climate and human-caused climate change.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 8 Sep. 2023
Preposition
The Outer Continental Shelf offshore Maine is virgin water for wind.
—Jeremy Beaman, Washington Examiner, 16 Jan. 2023
Bubbles emerge from a methane seep offshore Virginia.
—Jeffrey Marlow, Discover Magazine, 7 June 2016
The storm began organizing Friday offshore the Carolinas when two disturbances along the jet stream merged over the Southeast.
—Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2022
As of this writing, more than 70 container ships are idling offshore the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach because there are not enough dockworkers to unload the cargo, nor are there enough truck drivers to transport the goods.
—Adam Strauss, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2021
Salmon fishing has been given an additional boost by large schools of juvenile anchovies that have arrived this month offshore the Bay Area coast and in San Francisco Bay.
—Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, 21 Aug. 2020
As for crude inventories, there are also ample stockpiles being housed in onshore tanks and vessels offshore that could hit the market as the economics of storing the crude becomes less attractive.
—Serene Cheong, Bloomberg.com, 20 May 2020
Echoing Lynch’s comments, Al Cook, executive vice president of Global Strategy and Business Development at Equinor, pointed out the company’s investments in carbon capture and storage near Norway, and a wind energy project offshore Scotland.
—Katherine Dunn, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2020
Apache has pinned high hopes on Suriname after Exxon Mobil started developing huge oil projects offshore of neighboring Guyana.
—Jordan Blum, Houston Chronicle, 7 Jan. 2020
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'offshore.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
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Dictionary Entries Near offshore
Cite this Entry
“Offshore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/offshore. Accessed 3 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
offshore
1 of 2 adverb
off·shore
ˈȯf-ˈshō(ə)r
-ˈshȯ(ə)r
: from the shore : at a distance from the shore
offshore
2 of 2 adjective
off·shore
ˈȯf-ˌshō(ə)r
-ˌshȯ(ə)r
1
: coming or moving away from the shore
an offshore breeze
2
: located off the shore
offshore islands
an offshore oil rig
More from Merriam-Webster on offshore
Nglish: Translation of offshore for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of offshore for Arabic Speakers
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