Offer Meaning
/ˈɒfə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA proposal that has been made.
nounSomething put forth, bid, proffered or tendered.
Sentence Examples
You should carry out his offer.
You should have refused his offer.
Please confirm your acceptance of this offer in writing.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company will ____ a free trial to attract its new customers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company decided to ____ a generous severance package to all employees affected by the merger.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English offer, from Old English offrian (“offer or make a sacrifice”) rather than from Old French offre (“offer”), from offrir (“to offer”), from Latin offerō (“to present, bring before”). Compare North Frisian offer (“sacrifice, donation, fee”), Dutch offer (“offering, sacrifice”), German Opfer (“victim, sacrifice”), Danish offer (“victim, sacrifice”), Icelandic offr (“offering”). See verb below.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier."
— 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
"Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers,[…]. Even such a boat as the Mount Vernon offered a total deck space so cramped as to leave secrecy or privacy well out of the question, even had the motley and democratic assemblage of passengers been disposed to accord either."
— 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter II, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
"Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic[…]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become.[…]But the scandals kept coming,[…]. A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul. Instead it offers fixes and patches."
— 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
"Thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus xxix:36:
"The next stage is to remove and replace the top part of the right side lip, and offer the lid to the car to ensure all the shapes and gaps are okay."
— 2009, Roger Williams, Triumph TR2, 3, 3A, 4 & 4A:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company will ____ a free trial to attract its new customers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The company decided to ____ a generous severance package to all employees affected by the merger.