as in on and off
not constantly or steadily over a period of time
They've been dating off and on for almost a year.
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Recent Examples of off and on
Bell passed his investment adviser exam in 2017 and worked as an adviser representative off and on until 2019, including as an independent contractor at the Boulder investment firm Black Swift Group.
—
Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 16 Sep. 2025
The rest of the go-tos before Nick Pivetta joined the stable this year — Yu Darvish, Michael King and Joe Musgrove — have cycled off and on and sometimes back off the active roster so much that the workload of an up-and-down arm is second only to Cease’s over the last two years.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025
But its replacement, which happened to be the only spare at the time, worked perfectly for six weeks and then off and on for several more years.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Aug. 2025
Ray has been with me for 12 years off and on.
—Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for off and on
Justin Wingerter, Denver Post, 16 Sep. 2025
The rest of the go-tos before Nick Pivetta joined the stable this year — Yu Darvish, Michael King and Joe Musgrove — have cycled off and on and sometimes back off the active roster so much that the workload of an up-and-down arm is second only to Cease’s over the last two years.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025
But its replacement, which happened to be the only spare at the time, worked perfectly for six weeks and then off and on for several more years.
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 Aug. 2025
Ray has been with me for 12 years off and on.
—Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for off and on
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off and on
Adverb
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For protein products that do show an especially high heavy metal content, using them more sporadically, rather than daily, can reduce exposure.—
C. Michael White,
The Conversation,
14 Oct. 2025
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These restrictions are intended to be flexible and removable, yet they are only revisited sporadically.—
Peter White,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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It’s achieved here only intermittently.—
Frank Rizzo,
Variety,
17 Oct. 2025
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Evan had been in foster care and intermittently homeless for most of his 21-year-old life.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Others in the area are checked periodically from satellites or aircraft.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN Money,
22 Oct. 2025
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.—
Rowan Fisher-Shotton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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As a defender in the English Premier League for 12 years, Higginbotham rarely had to fly.—
Rustin Dodd,
New York Times,
23 Oct. 2025
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But pay decisions are rarely black-and-white.—
Johnny C. Taylor Jr,
USA Today,
22 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Lanthimos’s gaze, so exactingly attuned to human ugliness, has seldom given us lovelier things to look at.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
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Because Washington’s Zach Ertz has played his entire career in the NFC (previously with the Eagles, Cardinals and Lions) and the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce competes in the AFC, their teams have seldom met.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
24 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Off and on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off%20and%20on. Accessed 25 Oct. 2025.
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