Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adverb Often. Often used in combination.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Many times; many a time; frequently; often.
  • Frequent; repeated.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adverb Poetic Often; frequently; not rarely; many times.
  • adjective Poetic Frequent; often; repeated.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adverb dialectal often; frequently; not rarely; many times.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adverb many times at short intervals

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English; see upo in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • Ten Br. proposes: oft seldan (= _gave_) wære äfter leód-hryre: lytle hwîle bongâr bûgeð, þeáh seó brýd duge = _oft has a treaty been given after the fall of a prince: but little while the murder-spear resteth, however excellent the bride be.

    Beowulf Robert Sharp 1879

  • Ten Br. proposes: oft seldan (= _gave_) wǣre æfter lēod-hryre: lȳtle hwīle bongār būgeð, þēah sēo brȳd duge = _oft has a treaty been given after the fall of a prince: but little while the murder-spear resteth, however excellent the bride be.

    Beowulf Robert Sharp 1879

  • Alexander McQueen is a name oft batted around by members of the bloggerati as the designer of clothing that only batshit crazy people would wear.

    Alexander McQueen Wants You To Dress Like A Serial Killer This Fall | Manolith 2010

  • A name oft mentoned was Alban Maginness who is now running from Europe.

    So many names... Esoterica 2009

  • A name oft mentoned was Alban Maginness who is now running from Europe.

    Archive 2009-01-01 Esoterica 2009

  • Make special note that I use the article THE; because when discussing THE initiative in the context of tactical conflict -- which is what we are engaged in with the politico-economic rulers of the US on the question of the war -- "initiative" is not some generic thing, as we might suggest with the phrase oft stated, "take some initiative."

    Stan Goff: Abstention, Intelligence, Insurgency 2008

  • A word oft-times is expressive of an entire policy.

    Autographs for Freedom, Volume 2 (of 2) (1854) Various

  • Though baffled oft is ever won, and you will go into the battle with some understanding of its significance and meaning.

    Certain phases of the War Problem 1915

  • For freedom's battle, once begun, Bequeathed by bleeding sire to son, Tho 'baffled oft, is ever won.

    Canada and the Empire 1905

  • Some of the larger ones, taking into account their splendid interior decoration, and, along with it their sumptuous table fare, may well merit the name oft bestowed upon them, of "floating palaces."

    The Death Shot A Story Retold Mayne Reid 1850

Comments

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  • The utterly original downtown outfit National Theatre of the United States of America is known for its reconstructions of oft-forgotten performance genres, and they've set their latest sights of the historical Chautauqua assemblies, the travelling lecture series and precursor to vaudeville that Theodore Roosevelt once called "the most American thing in America".

    (From The New Yorker, March 9, 2009, page 8)

    March 11, 2009

  • 'Also, in the Yorkshire dialect 'oft' means 'far away'.

    June 9, 2012