Definition of well off adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

well off

adjective

/ˌwel ˈɒf/

/ˌwel ˈɔːf/

Idioms

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(comparative better off, no superlative)
having a lot of money synonym rich
- a well-off family
- They are much better off than us.
Synonyms rich
richwealthy ▪ prosperous ▪ affluent ▪ well off ▪ comfortableThese words all describe somebody/something that has a lot of money, property or valuable possessions.rich (of a person) having a lot of money, property or valuable possessions; (of a country or city) producing a lot of wealth so that many of its people can live at a high standardwealthy rich rich or wealthy?There is no real difference in meaning between these two words. Both are very frequent, but rich is more frequent and can be used in some fixed phrases where wealthy cannot: He’s stinking/filthy wealthy. • It’s a favourite resort for the wealthy and famous.
prosperous (rather formal) rich and successfulaffluent (rather formal) rich and with a good standard of living:
affluent Western countries
prosperous or affluent?Both prosperous and affluent are used to talk about people and places. Prosperous is used much more than affluent to talk about times and periods. Affluent is often used to contrast rich people or societies with poor ones. Being prosperous is nearly always seen as a good thing: It’s good to see you looking so prosperous. • It’s good to see you looking so affluent.
well off (often used in negative sentences) rich:
His family is not very well off.
The opposite of well off is badly off, but this is not very frequent; it is more common to say that somebody is not well off.comfortable having enough money to buy what you want without worrying about the cost:
They’re not millionaires, but they’re certainly very comfortable.
Patterns
- a(n) rich/wealthy/prosperous/affluent/well-off family
- a rich/wealthy/prosperous/well-off man/woman
- a(n) rich/wealthy/prosperous/affluent country/city
(comparative better off, superlative best off)
in a good situation
- I've got my own room so I'm well off.
- Some people don't know when they're well off.