noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
General-American:/ˈɔf.ʃuːt/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈɒf.ʃuːt/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:AO1 F SH UW2 T
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Something which shoots off or separates from a main stem or branch of a plant.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
the offshoots of a tree
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Something which develops from something else.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
an offshoot of a criminal organization
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a natural consequence of development
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Etymology tree English off- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewd- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *(s)kéwdeti? Proto-Germanic *skuttōnąbf.? Proto-Germanic *skeutaną Proto-West Germanic *skeutan Old English sċēotan Middle English schoten English shoot English offshoot From off- + shoot.
Across languages
Translations
36 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
издънка
(izdǎnka)
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Bulgarian:
филиз
(filiz)
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Catalan:
rebrot
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Catalan:
rebroll
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Catalan:
relluc
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Chinese Mandarin:
分枝
(fēnzhī)
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Dutch:
zijtak
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Finnish:
sivuverso
— that which shoots off from a main stem
French:
rejeton
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Galician:
trepeza
— that which shoots off from a main stem
German:
Ableger
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Ancient Greek:
παραφυάς
(paraphuás)
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Polish:
odgałęzienie
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Polish:
odnoga
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Spanish:
vástago
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Swedish:
avknoppning
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Swedish:
skott
— that which shoots off from a main stem
Bulgarian:
разклонение
(razklonenie)
— that which develops from something else
Chinese Mandarin:
分支
(fēnzhī)
— that which develops from something else
Chinese Mandarin:
衍生物
(yǎnshēngwù)
— that which develops from something else
Chinese Mandarin:
支流
(zhīliú)
— that which develops from something else
Chinese Mandarin:
旁系
(pángxì)
— that which develops from something else
Dutch:
uitloper
— that which develops from something else
Finnish:
rönsy
— that which develops from something else
Finnish:
haara
— that which develops from something else
French:
dérivé
— that which develops from something else
German:
Ableger
— that which develops from something else
Polish:
odgałęzienie
— that which develops from something else
Polish:
odnoga
— that which develops from something else
Spanish:
rama
— that which develops from something else
Spanish:
ramal
— that which develops from something else
Spanish:
ramificación
— that which develops from something else
Spanish:
derivado
— that which develops from something else
Spanish:
filial
— that which develops from something else
Swedish:
avknoppning
— that which develops from something else
Ukrainian:
відгалуження
(vidhalužennja)
— that which develops from something else