on-off
adjective
1
: used to turn something on and off
an on-off switch
2
: relating to something that is sometimes on and sometimes off
a switch set to a random on-off pattern
Examples of on-off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
At the end of season 3, Parker's character Carrie Bradshaw found herself with a brand new house but no boyfriend, as her on-off beau Aidan Shaw, played by John Corbett, returned to Virginia to parent his troubled son Wyatt.
—
Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
The genomes of complex multicellular eukaryotes today, in fact, are massive and full of repeating sequences, on-off switches and intricate controls on gene expression, features that seem to enable some of the complexity seen in eukaryotic life.
—Quanta Magazine, 2 May 2024
Liuzzo said that Elizabeth II’s son, who reportedly was always cash-strapped, once woke him up to ask to borrow $10,000 to handle some personal matter involving model Angie Everhart, described as his on-off girlfriend.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024
The musician — real name Colson Baker — marked turning 34 on April 22 with a party at his home, and two days after the bash, MGK posted a series of photos from the celebration, including one with his on-off girlfriend Megan Fox.
—Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 25 Apr. 2024
Love, and more specifically the on-off situationship at its heart, is the only thing this drama cares about.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, customers have slammed its on-off Dollar Menu for not having a single $1 item.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024
McCulloch and Pitts never imagined that their cartoon neurons could be trained, using data, so that their on-off states linked to certain properties in that data.
—Dan Rockmore, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024
On the right is the shifter, throttle, and headlight auto on-off button.
—Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, 6 Oct. 2023
Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 7 May 2024
The genomes of complex multicellular eukaryotes today, in fact, are massive and full of repeating sequences, on-off switches and intricate controls on gene expression, features that seem to enable some of the complexity seen in eukaryotic life.
—Quanta Magazine, 2 May 2024
Liuzzo said that Elizabeth II’s son, who reportedly was always cash-strapped, once woke him up to ask to borrow $10,000 to handle some personal matter involving model Angie Everhart, described as his on-off girlfriend.
—Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024
The musician — real name Colson Baker — marked turning 34 on April 22 with a party at his home, and two days after the bash, MGK posted a series of photos from the celebration, including one with his on-off girlfriend Megan Fox.
—Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 25 Apr. 2024
Love, and more specifically the on-off situationship at its heart, is the only thing this drama cares about.
—Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Mar. 2024
Meanwhile, customers have slammed its on-off Dollar Menu for not having a single $1 item.
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024
McCulloch and Pitts never imagined that their cartoon neurons could be trained, using data, so that their on-off states linked to certain properties in that data.
—Dan Rockmore, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024
On the right is the shifter, throttle, and headlight auto on-off button.
—Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, 6 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'on-off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near on-off
Cite this Entry
“On-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on-off. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
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