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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The power went out intermittently, and families scrimped to get enough food.—
Maggie Doherty,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
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With green shoots that have pink bases, purple flowers appear in early spring and intermittently the rest of the season.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
30 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.—
Rowan Fisher-Shotton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 Oct. 2025
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This suggests that snow leopards have purged bad mutations within their population periodically over time, which eliminated potential disadvantageous impacts from historic inbreeding and allowed populations to remain healthy despite small numbers, according to the paper.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
8 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Rollins rarely shoots when dribbling around a screen.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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The bill expands on a 2023 law, which police found too restrictive and used rarely.—
Hope Karnopp,
jsonline.com,
15 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Most doctors, nurses, and parents of critically ill children will seldom, if ever, bring poetry into their space of crisis.—
K.J.S. “Sunny” Anand,
Time,
15 Oct. 2025
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The fraud that James supposedly committed is seldom prosecuted as a standalone offense.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
12 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Off and on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off%20and%20on. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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