[ awf-shawr, -shohr, of- ]
/ ˈɔfˈʃɔr, -ˈʃoʊr, ˈɒf- /


off or away from the shore: They pushed the boat offshore.
at a distance from the shore, on a body of water: looking for oil offshore.
in a foreign country.


moving or tending away from the shore toward or into a body of water: an offshore wind.
located or operating on a body of water, at some distance from the shore: offshore fisheries.
registered, located, conducted, or operated in a foreign country: an off-shore investment company; off-shore manufacture of car parts.

Nearby words

  1. offscreen,
  2. offset,
  3. offset lithography,
  4. offset printing,
  5. offshoot,
  6. offshore dock,
  7. offshore drilling,
  8. offshoreman,
  9. offshoring,
  10. offside

Origin of offshore

First recorded in 1710–20; off + shore1 Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for offshore

British Dictionary definitions for offshore


/ (ˌɒfˈʃɔː) /

adjective, adverb

from, away from, or at some distance from the shore
NZ overseas; abroad


sited or conducted at sea as opposed to on landoffshore industries
based or operating abroad in places where the tax system is more advantageous than that of the home countryoffshore banking; offshore fund

Science definitions for offshore


[ ôfshôr ]

The relatively flat, irregularly shaped zone that extends outward from the breaker zone to the edge of the continental shelf. The water depth in this area is usually at least 10 m (33 ft). The offshore is continually submerged.