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
Wcco Staff, CBS News, 3 May 2026
Patterson played a diner owner named Luke, the on-and-off love interest of Lauren Graham's Lorelai Gilmore, in the fictional Stars Hollow.
—Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 3 May 2026
After a week of some on-and-off weather with wind chills and chance showers in the Philadelphia area, the weekend is supposed to be the same story — at least for the first half.
—Kaitlyn McCormick, USA Today, 1 May 2026
Brown frames the memoir with an investigation of her complicated on-and-off relationship with her narcissist mother until their eventual rupture, and weaves in dozens of interviews and research.
—Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
Apple’s software is also the source of on-and-off griping, with last year’s Liquid Glass redesign occasioning some particularly harsh criticism.
—ArsTechnica, 24 Apr. 2026
Previously, Batula was married to Wilson’s friend, Kyle Cooke, and Wilson had a on-and-off relationship with Batula’s best friend, Ciara Miller.
—William Earl, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026
Ice Cream and Reebok have had an on-and-off-again relationship since christening it with the Flavour sneaker in 2004.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 15 Apr. 2026
The two men communicated via text messages, on-and-off, for about 18 months.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
Housley's mother, Pamela Lazor, told WCCO her son went to school with Nietz and had been on-and-off friends for years.
—Wcco Staff, CBS News, 3 May 2026
Patterson played a diner owner named Luke, the on-and-off love interest of Lauren Graham's Lorelai Gilmore, in the fictional Stars Hollow.
—Meredith Wilshere, PEOPLE, 3 May 2026
After a week of some on-and-off weather with wind chills and chance showers in the Philadelphia area, the weekend is supposed to be the same story — at least for the first half.
—Kaitlyn McCormick, USA Today, 1 May 2026
Brown frames the memoir with an investigation of her complicated on-and-off relationship with her narcissist mother until their eventual rupture, and weaves in dozens of interviews and research.
—Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
Apple’s software is also the source of on-and-off griping, with last year’s Liquid Glass redesign occasioning some particularly harsh criticism.
—ArsTechnica, 24 Apr. 2026
Previously, Batula was married to Wilson’s friend, Kyle Cooke, and Wilson had a on-and-off relationship with Batula’s best friend, Ciara Miller.
—William Earl, Variety, 24 Apr. 2026
Ice Cream and Reebok have had an on-and-off-again relationship since christening it with the Flavour sneaker in 2004.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 15 Apr. 2026
The two men communicated via text messages, on-and-off, for about 18 months.
—Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for on and off
Adverb
-
To toggle your new pet off and on, type /pet into the composer, then use Wake Pet or Tuck Away Pet in Settings > Appearance.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
3 May 2026
-
Dosunmu is out with a right calf injury, an issue that has plagued him off and on for several weeks.—
Jon Krawczynski,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
During a preview of the expansive, but comprehensive show Saturday, Bolton emphasized how the human figure and the dressed body are the recurrent aesthetic throughout The Met’s collections.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
4 May 2026
-
Other symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, recurrent nose bleeds, tiny red spots on your skin, excessive sweating and frequent or severe infections.—
Gina Kalsi,
PEOPLE,
28 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Grown as a shrub or small tree, the tea olive blooms in spring, summer, and sporadically throughout the year.—
Melissa Locker,
Southern Living,
1 May 2026
-
Look for repeat-blooming cultivars that bloom with gusto in spring and then continue blooming sporadically into fall.—
Megan Hughes,
Better Homes & Gardens,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The Bell Street Bridge encampment was prioritized for closure as part of Downtown Rising – the first phase of Atlanta Rising, a multi-year campaign launched in 2025 to end unsheltered homelessness citywide and make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.—
Emily McLeod,
CBS News,
7 Mar. 2026
-
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
Adverb
-
Traffic will be paused intermittently along FM 1709 between Randol Mill/Davis Boulevard and Peytonville.—
Fousia Abdullahi,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 May 2026
-
During the nearly two decades since that meeting with carpet executives in 2008, Georgia regulators intermittently tested the waters south of Dalton, confirming time and again the extensive contamination.—
DYLAN JACKSON,
ABC News,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
Brent was trading above $100 a barrel on Friday, while shipping and insurance markets continue signaling deep unease despite periodic ceasefire headlines.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
8 May 2026
-
Traditional brake systems require periodic fluid replacement and bleeding procedures to remove trapped air from the lines.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
7 May 2026
Adverb
-
Ouija boards were enshrined in glass cases throughout the room; periodically, a small silver bell tolled without warning, moving as though on its own.—
Alex Barasch,
New Yorker,
11 May 2026
-
The idea of including the Stars has periodically been floated at the state Capitol over the past couple of years, aligned with the Democrats’ theme of bringing equity to any stadium-building conversation.—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
The deflating defeat, narrated by an intermittent cascade of boos, rendered their record the worst in baseball at 7-16 and suddenly a half-game lousier than the idle New York Mets.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
8 May 2026
-
The job market is showing intermittent signs of recovery after a bleak 2025.—
Paul Wiseman,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“On and off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/on%20and%20off. Accessed 12 May. 2026.
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