Meaning & use
off the street
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Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
no longer living or sleeping in a public place, especially for someone who was homeless
Grammar: Used after verbs like 'get', 'take', or 'help' to show that someone leaves life on the streets.
Patterns
- get someone off the street
- help someone off the street
- take someone off the street
The charity's main goal is to help young people off the street and into safe housing.
After months of sleeping rough, he finally got off the street thanks to a local shelter.
The new program aims to take families off the street before winter.
phrasefixed phraseinformal
not connected to a particular place or group; coming from an unknown or random source
Grammar: Often used before a noun: 'an off-the-street interview' means someone stopped without planning.
Patterns
- off-the-street interview
- off-the-street person
- off-the-street opinion
The reporter did off-the-street interviews to hear what ordinary people thought.
We don't want off-the-street advice; we need expert guidance.
He was just some off-the-street guy who happened to be there.
Common combinations
- get off the street
- She worked hard to get off the street and find a job.
- help someone off the street
- The shelter helps people off the street by offering beds and meals.
- off-the-street interview
- The TV crew did off-the-street interviews in the shopping center.
- take someone off the street
- The police took the suspect off the street before he could cause more trouble.
Synonyms and how they differ
- homeless
- Describes someone without a home, but does not necessarily mean they are on the street right now; 'off the street' focuses on leaving that situation.
- off the streets
- Very similar, but the plural often refers to removing many people or things from public areas, while 'off the street' can refer to one person.
Opposites
Commonly confused: off the street or on the street?
off the street vs on the street
This is the opposite: living or being in a public place, often without a home. 'Off the street' means no longer in that situation.
Practice
The charity's aim is to help homeless people ______ the street and into permanent housing.
Choose one answer.
'Off the street' is the fixed phrase meaning to leave a homeless situation. 'Of' is wrong because it doesn't show movement away; 'from' could work in some contexts but the idiom is 'off the street'; 'out' would need 'out of the street', which is not the standard phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “off the street”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.