with little or no preparation or forethought; "his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment"; "an extemporaneous piano recital"; "an extemporary lecture"; "an extempore skit"; "an impromptu speech"; "offhand excuses"; "trying to sound offhanded and reassuring"; "an off-the-cuff toast"; "a few unrehearsed comments"
Used in a Sentence
offhand
How to use offhand in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for offhand.
Editorial note
So he comes back and talks to us for a while, then mentions offhand "So I need to go take photos with a reporter for the Globe.
Examples5
Definitions4
Parts of speech2
Quick take
with little or no preparation or forethought; "his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment"; "an extemporaneous piano recital"; "an extemporary lecture"; "an extempore skit"; "an impromptu speech"; "offhand excuses"; "trying to sound offhanded and reassuring"; "an off-the-cuff toast"; "a few unrehearsed comments"
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of offhand gathered in one view.
casually thoughtless or inconsiderate; "an offhand manner"; "she treated most men with offhand contempt"
without previous thought or preparation; "couldn't give the figures offhand"; "we decided offhand to go to Canada"; "she had made these remarks offhandedly"
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for offhand.
adjective
with little or no preparation or forethought; "his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment"; "an extemporaneous piano recital"; "an extemporary lecture"; "an extempore skit"; "an impromptu speech"; "offhand excuses"; "trying to sound offhanded and reassuring"; "an off-the-cuff toast"; "a few unrehearsed comments"
See also: ad-lib, extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore, impromptu, offhanded, off-the-cuff, unrehearsed
adjective
casually thoughtless or inconsiderate; "an offhand manner"; "she treated most men with offhand contempt"
See also: offhanded
adverb
without previous thought or preparation; "couldn't give the figures offhand"; "we decided offhand to go to Canada"; "she had made these remarks offhandedly"
See also: offhanded, offhandedly
adverb
in a casually inconsiderate manner; "replied offhand, his mind a million miles away"; "she threw him over offhandedly without even a Dear-John letter"
See also: offhanded, offhandedly
Example sentences
So he comes back and talks to us for a while, then mentions offhand "So I need to go take photos with a reporter for the Globe.
I don't have the number offhand, but I do know that there is no "Silicon Valley equivalent" for bricklayers.
The offhand dismissal of Raymond Chen as an "incompetent programmer" captures the hacker news zeitgeist.
Callback parameters: I can't think of any callbacks in the stdlib offhand, but the ones that do exist are methods you implement, and all the ones I can think of are documented7.
I don't recall offhand, but for a 7-day cruise the "automatic" gratuity is, I believe, around $100 or so per person, so take that into consideration.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use offhand in a sentence?
So he comes back and talks to us for a while, then mentions offhand "So I need to go take photos with a reporter for the Globe.
What does offhand mean?
with little or no preparation or forethought; "his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment"; "an extemporaneous piano recital"; "an extemporary lecture"; "an extempore skit"; "an impromptu speech"; "offhand excuses"; "trying to sound offhanded and reassuring"; "an off-the-cuff toast"; "a few unrehearsed comments"
What part of speech is offhand?
offhand is commonly used as adjective, adverb.