as in off and on
not constantly or steadily over a period of time
It's been raining on and off all afternoon.
Related Words
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Dissimilar Words
as in recurrent
occurring or appearing at intervals
an on-and-off friendship over the years
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of on and off
Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 24 Jan. 2026
Van Patten and White star in Tell Me Lies as Lucy and Stephen, a toxic, on-and-off couple whose relationship begins in college and runs the course of nearly a decade.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
After a week of on-and-off flurries, weather officials say a cold spell is in the forecast for the weekend, with highs in the cool teens for the Chicago Bears’ playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 16 Jan. 2026
Snow is expected to continue on-and-off through Friday afternoon, with temperatures reaching highs of 33 to 34 degrees, Heeren said.
—Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Last season of Tell Me Lies, Hulu’s soapy, sardonic drama about a toxic on-and-off relationship between college students Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White), ended with a bang—literally.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 13 Jan. 2026
Shares of Serve Robotics are up 25% since the start of this year, but their history has been volatile, partly because of Nvidia’s on-and-off history with the company.
—Pia Singh, CNBC, 7 Jan. 2026
In California, that’s been an on-and-off reality for state government workers for years.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 7 Jan. 2026
Star also hinted at a resumption of the on-and-off romance between Emily and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) in season six.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
The podcast paints Jordan as an increasingly controlling and abusive on-and-off-again boyfriend of Arceneaux's who at one point gave her three pages of rules to follow, like sharing social media passwords and her location.
—Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 24 Jan. 2026
Van Patten and White star in Tell Me Lies as Lucy and Stephen, a toxic, on-and-off couple whose relationship begins in college and runs the course of nearly a decade.
—Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
After a week of on-and-off flurries, weather officials say a cold spell is in the forecast for the weekend, with highs in the cool teens for the Chicago Bears’ playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams.
—Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 16 Jan. 2026
Snow is expected to continue on-and-off through Friday afternoon, with temperatures reaching highs of 33 to 34 degrees, Heeren said.
—Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 16 Jan. 2026
Last season of Tell Me Lies, Hulu’s soapy, sardonic drama about a toxic on-and-off relationship between college students Lucy Albright (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen DeMarco (Jackson White), ended with a bang—literally.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 13 Jan. 2026
Shares of Serve Robotics are up 25% since the start of this year, but their history has been volatile, partly because of Nvidia’s on-and-off history with the company.
—Pia Singh, CNBC, 7 Jan. 2026
In California, that’s been an on-and-off reality for state government workers for years.
—William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 7 Jan. 2026
Star also hinted at a resumption of the on-and-off romance between Emily and Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) in season six.
—Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 5 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for on and off
Adverb
-
The far-right politician is suddenly distancing himself from an American president who, off and on over the last year, has made aggressive plays to annex Greenland, targeting Danish borders that have existed for roughly 300 years.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Sporadic rain Friday will turn to freezing rain and ice around midnight that will continue off and on until Sunday morning.—
Brandon Miller,
CNN Money,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Also keep in mind that high daily doses of zinc for an extended period can interfere with copper absorption, which may lead to copper deficiency and increase the risk of bone fractures or recurrent infection, Hunnes said.—
Brian Mastroianni,
Health,
19 Jan. 2026
-
From Information to Consequence The deeper failure running through modern governance is not simply a shortage of information, but the recurrent inability to act on it.—
Nizan Geslevich Packin,
Forbes.com,
17 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
State programs aimed at helping communities pay for protections against predators such as installing improved fencing or training in nonlethal methods of controlling them have only been funded sporadically.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Although the sun is thought to have reached solar maximum — the peak of its 11-year activity cycle — in late 2024, the years immediately following often remain volatile, with strong Northern Lights expected sporadically throughout 2026.—
Jamie Carter,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This was and is a non-recurring, cyclical business totally dependent on transaction volumes, which fluctuate with economic cycles and interest rates.—
Josh Brown,Sean Russo,
CNBC,
15 Jan. 2026
-
This will be a semi-recurring role that films in January and February.—
Brayden Garcia,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
The instructional promise of each episode was a bit, a starting point for discursive, funny, intermittently personal mini-essays that always started in Wilson’s beloved New York, but could and did make their way anywhere.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
23 Jan. 2026
-
As an adult, however, Feldman entered a decades-long stint in the tabloid wilderness, working as an actor only intermittently after struggles with addiction and the trauma of alleged abuse as a child in the film industry.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Their goal is to replace periodic checks with continuous monitoring.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Jan. 2026
-
The fund is structured so that capital returned from each investment is automatically reinvested into future projects, allowing investors potential to compound returns over time, while also offering periodic opportunities to cash out.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
21 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Another idea is that the rhythm causes brief fluctuations in alertness, allowing sleeping animals to periodically check their surroundings and reduce the risk of being eaten.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Funds that hold the physical assets may also sell off some of their holdings periodically to cover expenses and redemptions.—
Darla Mercado, CFP®,
CNBC,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
SMRs also align with Rwanda’s push into energy‑intensive sectors such as data centers, advanced manufacturing, and mineral processing, all of which require stable baseload power that intermittent renewables alone cannot promise.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Jones added that their intermittent hops weren’t simply impressive displays of talent.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“On and off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/on%20and%20off. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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