Meaning & use
offset
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To balance or cancel out the effect of something by having an opposite effect of similar size.
Grammar: Takes an object: gains offset losses.
Patterns
- offset something against something
- offset something with something
- something offsets something
Cheaper fuel helped offset the higher cost of the flight.
She walked to work every day to offset the hours spent sitting at a desk.
The company's gains in Asia offset its losses in Europe.
verbtransitive
To compensate for the carbon dioxide you cause by paying for projects that reduce or absorb an equal amount.
Grammar: Takes an object such as emissions or a flight.
Patterns
- offset your emissions
- offset a flight
Many travelers pay to offset their flights by funding tree planting.
The brewery offsets its emissions by investing in wind power.
We offset the carbon from our wedding by supporting a forest charity.
nouncountablebusiness
Something that balances or compensates for something else, such as a payment or an amount deducted.
Grammar: Countable: a carbon offset, several offsets.
Patterns
- an offset against something
- a carbon offset
The grant served as an offset against the rising rent.
Buyers can purchase a carbon offset when booking the ticket.
A tax offset reduced the amount he owed.
Word forms
| third person singular | offsets |
|---|---|
| past tense | offset |
| past participle | offset |
| -ing form | offsetting |
Common combinations
- partly offset
- The price rise was partly offset by a tax cut.
- fully offset
- Savings fully offset the cost of the new machine.
- offset the cost
- Selling the old car helped offset the cost of the new one.
- offset emissions
- Airlines offer to offset emissions for a small fee.
- carbon offset
- A carbon offset can fund a clean-energy project.
Synonyms and how they differ
- counterbalance
- Counterbalance is more formal and suggests weighing two opposing forces against each other.
- compensate for
- Compensate for stresses making up for a loss or fault, while offset can be a numeric cancellation.
- cancel out
- Cancel out suggests the two effects wipe each other out completely, which offset does not always imply.
- neutralize
- Neutralize implies completely removing an effect, and often a harmful one.
Opposites
Word family
- offsetting adjective
- balancing or cancelling an effect
- offsetter noun
- rare word for something that offsets
- offset noun
- a balancing amount or compensating action
Commonly confused: offset or upset? offset or onset?
offset vs upset
Upset means to disturb or make unhappy, while offset means to balance.
offset vs onset
Onset is the beginning of something and sounds similar to offset, but the meaning is unrelated.
Practice
Rising wages were partly ___ by higher food prices, so people felt little better off.
Choose one answer.
Offset means balanced out. Onset and outset mean a beginning, and upset is a different verb that does not fit this passive use.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “offset”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.