01 n. That which is set off against another thing; an offset.
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1.
That which is set off against another thing; an offset.“I do not contemplate such a heroine as a set-off to the many sins imputed to me as committed against woman.” — D. Jerrold.
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2.
That which is used to improve the appearance of anything; a decoration; an ornament.
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3.
A counterclaim; a cross debt or demand; a distinct claim filed or set up by the defendant against the plaintiff's demand.(Law)
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Syn.
Set-off, Offset.
Offset originally denoted that which branches off or projects, as a shoot from a tree, but the term has long been used in America in the sense of set-off. This use is beginning to obtain in England; though Macaulay uses set-off, and so, perhaps, do a majority of English writers.