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
Relevance
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for on and off
Adverb
-
In a letter to the school's sponsor in September, Dohn treasurer Michael Ashmore said Capital School Services performed work for Dohn off and on for roughly eight years.—
Quinlan Bentley,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025 -
Rain showers during the day and partly cloudy skies at night are expected off and on this week in Indianapolis with temperatures in the 50s and lows dipping into the 30s.—
Jade Jackson,
IndyStar,
2 July 2025
Adjective
-
The antifungals for yeast work a bit better, FWIW, but as many as 28% of people still wind up with recurrent yeast infections.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
7 July 2025
-
This study is important because its rigorous methodology confirms what previous research had suggested: Exercise extends disease-free survival for patients with cancer and should be incorporated as part of holistic treatment for patients to reduce their risk of recurrent and new cancers.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
3 July 2025
Adverb
-
Defender Phil Jones, who worked sporadically as a coach with United’s under-18s for free for 18 months, is set to leave to pursue a senior assistant role at another club.—
Laurie Whitwell,
New York Times,
3 July 2025
-
While the mustachioed plumber and his brother became the face of the brand, Donkey Kong appears more sporadically — wavering occasionally between a hero and villain — and doesn’t even have a consistent lore.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
1 July 2025
Adjective
-
Does this bring him into a more recurring, regular role?—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
9 May 2025
-
Dobson says the research is coming now that the power engineering community increasingly recognizes cascading failures as a distinct and recurring problem—a concept that still elicited protests from power engineers in the aftermath of the 2003 blackout.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
14 Aug. 2013
Adjective
-
Rain showers and periodic storms are possible every day through Tuesday before humidity and heat were expected to build again in the Chicago area, the weather service predicted.—
William Tong,
Chicago Tribune,
19 July 2025
-
Businesses should conduct periodic audits of cloud consumption, eliminate redundant services and negotiate better contracts with cloud vendors. 4.—
Motasem El Bawab,
Forbes.com,
18 July 2025
Adverb
-
Russia has periodically run out of missiles especially during the first year of the war.—
Natasha Lindstaedt,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
-
Hartfield also raises his own cattle and sells them periodically at stock yards throughout the state.—
Kyle Martin,
Mercury News,
12 July 2025
Adjective
-
There’s a reason for that: Fire hose again, coupled with intermittent kinks and leaks.—
Amy Lindgren,
Twin Cities,
12 July 2025
-
Dietary changes such as intermittent fasting, caloric restriction, and ketogenic diet with regular exercise can prevent MASH or delay its progression.—
Suchandrima Bhowmik,
Health,
12 July 2025
Adverb
-
Castor oil is not a treatment for chronic constipation and should only be used occasionally for short-term relief.—
Lindsay Curtis,
Verywell Health,
11 July 2025
-
The live feed is usually quick to load, but occasionally takes a few seconds.—
Simon Hill,
Wired News,
11 July 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“On and off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/on%20and%20off. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share