: not prepared in advance : spontaneous, informal
off-the-cuff remarks
off-the-cuff adverb

Examples of off-the-cuff in a Sentence

having gotten into hot water with some unfortunate off-the-cuff remarks, the candidate now limits himself to his carefully prepared campaign speech
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
An off-the-cuff response might work fine when everything is going smoothly, but the same can’t be said when every word is scrutinized and trust is on the line. Nicole Tidei, Forbes.com, 17 July 2025 There’s some back-porch strumming, some ambiguous yet powerful imagery, and an occasional splash of vocal processing, all presented with an appealing, off-the-cuff looseness. Simon Vozick-Levinson, Rolling Stone, 16 July 2025 Given Musk’s stature as the world’s richest person, maximizing profits has never been the primary goal, but his off-the-cuff style and propensity for tweeting dozens of times a day created non-stop challenges for Yaccarino. Dade Hayes, Deadline, 9 July 2025 Rather than an off-the-cuff riff, his joke was a reference to an existing parody song that, improbably, traces the story of the past four decades of U.S.-Iran relations — up to and including the recent bombing by the U.S. of three nuclear facilities in Iran on June 21. Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 25 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for off-the-cuff

Word History

First Known Use

1936, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of off-the-cuff was in 1936

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Cite this Entry

“Off-the-cuff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/off-the-cuff. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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