off-duty

/ˌɒf ˈdjuːti/ (bre, ipa) · [ˌɔfdˈuti] /ˌɔːf ˈduːti/ (ame, ipa)

off-duty — adjective

1. not doing your regular job at the current moment because your shift has finished

1.形容詞B1
釋義

not doing your regular job at the current moment because your shift has finished or you have a scheduled day away from work — used especially for police officers, medical staff, security guards, and other uniformed professionals

例句

Officer Park helped a lost child find her mother while off-duty.

predicative: while + off-duty

Nurse Sirin checked on an elderly patient even though she was off-duty.

predicative: be + off-duty with even though-clause

同義詞
  • off work

    broader — can apply to any type of job, not just shift-based roles

  • on a break

    temporary pause during work hours rather than the end of a full shift

  • off the clock

    informal, US-centric; common in hourly-wage contexts

  • free

    very general; can refer to any kind of freedom from obligation

反義詞
  • on duty

    the direct opposite — currently working your scheduled shift

  • working

    general opposite; less specific to shift-based roles

文法句型

be + off-duty (predicative)

off-duty + noun (attributive)

用法筆記

Primarily used for professions with shift schedules or uniforms (police, medical staff, security, military, pilots, firefighters). For standard office jobs, 'off work' or 'on leave' are more natural choices. The hyphen is standard when the compound appears before a noun (an off-duty officer), but both 'off duty' and 'off-duty' are accepted in predicative position.

常見錯誤

❌I am off-duty from my accounting job today.
✅I took the day off from my accounting job.
💡'Off-duty' is used for shift-based or uniformed professions, not standard office work.
❌The officer who is off duty helped me.
✅The off-duty officer helped me.
💡When used before a noun, the hyphenated compound form is the standard attributive adjective.