How to Use on-off in a Sentence

on-off

adjective
  • That gap of 14 percentage points is the largest on-off swing on the team.
    Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2023
  • Connect the transformer's two red lead wires to the mains-load side of the on-off switch, and the two black leads to the neutral side.
    IEEE Spectrum, 31 Oct. 2018
  • On the right is the shifter, throttle, and headlight auto on-off button.
    Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, 6 Oct. 2023
  • The base has just two buttons, an on-off switch on the flosser’s handle, and a pressure dial on the base that allows users to fine-tune the force of the water spray.
    Theresa Holland, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2023
  • Gomez’s last public relationship was with on-off ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber in 2018.
    Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 31 Aug. 2023
  • Last month, Jenner and her on-off boyfriend Travis Scott, the father of her two children, were reported to have broken up again.
    Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 16 Feb. 2023
  • Jenner and Scott have been on-off through their relationship.
    Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 8 Apr. 2023
  • Meanwhile, customers have slammed its on-off Dollar Menu for not having a single $1 item.
    Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024
  • The other, Noyce’s idea, was to place on one patch of silicon not just one transistor — the on-off switch of computers — but many, along with the wires to connect them.
    Kathleen Day, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2023
  • Each shoe, no matter the color, features Asics’ sporty logo on each side, as well as durable laces (many of them patterned) and subtle pull-tabs at the heel to make on-off a breeze.
    Hillary Maglin, Travel + Leisure, 12 July 2023
  • Scott and Jenner have an on-off relationship and share two children, Stormi and Aire.
    Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 16 May 2023
  • Hadid and Malik had ended their on-off romance for good in October 2021.
    Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 26 July 2023
  • Justin and Selena's eight-year on-off relationship comes to its final end.
    Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 3 Mar. 2023
  • Love, and more specifically the on-off situationship at its heart, is the only thing this drama cares about.
    Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Mar. 2024
  • After factoring in the game’s tempo with Antetokounmpo’s on-off minutes, my model projects the Bucks to score 113.4 points in this game.
    Michael Arinze, Chicago Tribune, 19 Apr. 2023
  • Khloé Kardashian and Tristan Thompson's on-off romance may not be off forever, after all—at least not if Thompson has his way.
    Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 15 Mar. 2023
  • Her own Zoonomia research suggests that virus-like pieces of DNA multiplied in the genomes of our monkey-like ancestors, inserting new copies of themselves and rewiring our on-off switches in the process.
    Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2023
  • Featuring a handle for enhanced portability, a wide nozzle for full face coverage, and a simple on-off switch, the device is quite easy to use.
    Kiana Murden, Vogue, 9 Mar. 2023
  • Gigi and Malik ended their on-off relationship for good shortly after news of the incident came out.
    Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 12 July 2023
  • And then also the same characters, returning his family Claire (Ludivine Sagnier) his on-off partner, the mother of his son Raoul, etc.
    Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 13 Oct. 2023
  • The on-off couple were reported to have separated in September 2021.
    Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2023
  • McCulloch and Pitts never imagined that their cartoon neurons could be trained, using data, so that their on-off states linked to certain properties in that data.
    Dan Rockmore, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024
  • The on-off couple has been spotted together with some frequency lately after their engagement appeared to be on the rocks earlier this year.
    Nardine Saad, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2023
  • Reviewers appreciate the good fit and on-off ease that toddlers can handle independently.
    Alesandra Dubin, Travel + Leisure, 1 Apr. 2023
  • Another target will be to see if instead of just viewing alpha synuclein as an on-off switch, researchers can look at levels of the protein to determine how advanced Parkinson’s is and even to see if drugs can lower concentrations of the protein.
    Matthew Herper, STAT, 12 Apr. 2023
  • Her family is very supportive of Jenner's budding romance with Chalamet, the source added, and excited for her to date someone other than Scott, with whom Jenner has had a turbulent on-off relationship.
    Alyssa Bailey, ELLE, 21 Apr. 2023
  • Electric toothbrushes can be as basic as simply having an on-off switch or come equipped with several brushing modes and a slew of additional features (even apps) that can either improve the experience or complicate it.
    Danielle Zoellner, Verywell Health, 18 Oct. 2023
  • During a period of separation in their on-off relationship, Strickland briefly dated Wilson.
    Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 16 Nov. 2023
  • His complicated reconciliation with Paige may be the meat of the series, but his frisky relationship with his on-off girlfriend Nadine (a fabulous Brenda Strong) and his affectionate mentorship of his grandson make for some of the sweetest moments.
    Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2023
  • The genomes of complex multicellular eukaryotes today, in fact, are massive and full of repeating sequences, on-off switches and intricate controls on gene expression, features that seem to enable some of the complexity seen in eukaryotic life.
    Quanta Magazine, 2 May 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'on-off.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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