Meaning & use
offers
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“offers” is a form of “offer”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Presents something to someone so that they can accept or refuse it, or says you are willing to do something for them.
Grammar: Takes an object: she offers help. It can take two objects: he offers her a seat.
Patterns
- someone offers someone something
- someone offers something to someone
- someone offers to do something
The host offers every guest a cup of tea.
My neighbor offers to water the plants when we travel.
The shop offers free delivery on large orders.
verbtransitive
Provides or makes available something, such as a service, a feature or an opportunity.
Grammar: The subject is usually a place, product or organization: the college offers evening classes.
Patterns
- something offers something
The hotel offers a view of the harbor.
This phone offers a long battery life.
The course offers a good introduction to coding.
nounplural
Statements or proposals in which a person or company says what they will give, do or pay.
Grammar: Plural of offer: we received two offers.
Patterns
- offers on something
- an offer of something
We received two offers on the house.
The store has special offers on winter coats.
She turned down both job offers.
Word forms
| base form | offer |
|---|---|
| past tense | offered |
| -ing form | offering |
Common combinations
- offers advice
- Our teacher offers advice to anyone who asks.
- offers a discount
- The airline offers a discount to students.
- offers a solution
- The new app offers a simple solution to a common problem.
- special offers
- The store emails its special offers every Friday.
- job offers
- After graduating, he compared three job offers.
- offers support
- The charity offers support to families in need.
Synonyms and how they differ
- provides
- Provides stresses that something is actually given or supplied, while offers leaves open whether it is accepted.
- proposes
- Proposes is more formal and suggests putting forward a plan or idea rather than something you will give.
- volunteers
- Volunteers focuses on freely offering your own time or help, which is narrower than offers.
- bids
- Bids is used for money offered at an auction or for a purchase, a much narrower use than offers.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: offers or offs?
offers vs offs
Offs is not a usual standalone word, so offers is the form to use for more than one proposal.
Practice
The café ___ free refills on coffee, so you can have a second cup at no extra cost.
Choose one answer.
Offers fits because the cafe makes refills available. Orders needs a different object and proposes sounds like suggesting an idea.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “offers”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.